TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY OF HORMONE THERAPY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE MENOPAUSAL WOMAN

Abstract
The recent publication of the initial outcomes from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study of menopausal management have cast concern on the safety of oral hormone therapy, despite the lack of new or increased risks associated with the use of hormone therapy. As with any study there are biases that limit our ability to use the clinical outcomes and apply them to all menopausal women. In particular, the WHI studies recruited asymptomatic women and evaluated only a single dose of a daily oral regimen of conjugated equine estrogen (0.625 mg) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5 mg). The failure to evaluate symptomatic women and non-oral regimens precluded the evaluation of hormone delivery systems that have been shown to provide similar symptom relief to oral regimens but with a considerably different physiological impact. A recent evaluation of the clinical efficacy and safety of a transdermal combination hormone therapy for the menopause will be reviewed in this article.

Key words
Transdermal, hormone therapy, menopause

Bibliografía del artículo

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