COMPREHENSIVE HORMONE MODULATION |
While plant-derived compounds such as phytoestrogens and lignans successfully counter menopausal symptoms in many women, others may need additional therapeutics to achieve optimal relief. Bioidentical hormone replacement is an option for managing the uncomfortable effects of menopause. This method involves first assessing hormone levels with blood testing and then correcting deficiencies using hormones that are identical to those found naturally in the body. By restoring estrogens (using only natural forms), progesterone, DHEA, pregnenolone, and testosterone to the levels found in healthy women in their twenties, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy helps to relieve menopausal symptoms and enhance well-being. Supplementation with phytoestrogens, lignans, and cruciferous vegetable extracts may help protect against the increased cancer risk that even some natural estrogen drugs may induce. |
HORMONES USED IN MENOPAUSE MANAGEMENT |
Estrogens. Estriol is the main component of bioidentical estrogen replacement therapy, often used with smaller proportions of estradiol and estrone. Estriol offers many of the benefits of more conventional estrogen-replacement therapies, without the harsh side effects or long-term dangers associated with conventional hormone replacement therapy.97 Some popular prescription estrogen formulas are BiEst and TriEst. BiEst consists of estradiol and estriol, while TriEst contains all three estrogens.98 Progesterone is important to hormone replacement, serving as a counterpoint to estrogen. One of progesterone's most valuable benefits may be its ability to fight cancer. Studies have shown that progesterone has anti-proliferative effects on at least two different types of breast cancer cells.99 Natural progesterone has also demonstrated neuroprotective properties.100 Progesterone deficiency has been linked to migraine.101 Most natural progesterone products are derived from soybeans and yams, and can be purchased over the counter. A common form of natural progesterone is dispensed in a cream that is applied topically to the skin.102,103 Many physicians recommend using progesterone therapy only during the last half of the month to simulate a young, healthy progesterone cycle. DHEA is a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland, the gonads, and the brain.104 Although women usually have less DHEA than men, both sexes lose DHEA at about the same rate, suggesting that its decline is related to aging.105,106 Decreased levels of DHEA are associated with cancer, diabetes, lupus, and psychiatric illness.107,108 DHEA has been shown to improve mood, neurological functions, immune function, energy, and feelings of well-being, and to maintain muscle and bone mass.109-111 One study demonstrated DHEA and pregnenolone help enhance memory.112 DHEA may also improve insulin sensitivity and lower triglyceride levels.113 Testosterone levels gradually decrease with age.114 Loss of testosterone adversely affects libido, bone and muscle mass, vasomotor symptoms, cardiovascular health, mood, and well-being.115,116 Testosterone therapy, combined with estrogen therapy, has been shown to improve quality of life, vigor, mood, ability to concentrate, bone mineralization, libido, and sexual satisfaction.117-120 This combination therapy also produces improvements in hot flashes, sleep disturbances, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. In women, DHEA often converts to testosterone, thereby making it possible to raise testosterone levels using DHEA supplements.114,119 Pregnenolone levels likewise decline with age, decreasing significantly in women after the age of 30.121 Reduced pregnenolone levels result in decreased amounts of all other hormones, and pregnenolone deficiencies have been associated with diminished brain function and dementia.122,123 |
HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY, THEN AND NOW |
For decades, hormone replacement therapy was essentially the standard treatment for menopausal complaints. This changed abruptly in 2002, when the National Institutes of Health announced that it had halted a comprehensive study of the effects of hormone replacement therapy on various aspects of women's long-term health. Alarmed by emerging findings, researchers cancelled the massive trial, known as the Women's Health Initiative, before it was completed. Although the combination of estrogen and progestin improved healthy menopausal women's bone health compared to placebo, it was also clearly associated with significant increases in heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. Hormone replacement therapy increased the incidence of breast cancer alone by as much as 26%, while increasing heart attack incidence by nearly 30%.1 Accordingly, menopausal women were encouraged to discontinue hormone replacement therapy, and millions of women complied.124 Although hormone replacement therapy offers slight improvements in osteoporosis risk and incidence of colon cancer, NIH officials noted, “The balance of harm versus benefit does not justify any woman beginning or continuing to take estrogen plus progestin.” While the use of hormone replacement therapy has dropped precipitously, the health problems associated with menopause remain. What to do about the erosion of quality of life, sleeplessness, irritability, hot flashes, and brittle bones that accompany menopause? Data indicate that women have been reluctant to turn to traditional herbal remedies such as black cohosh and soy.124 However, mounting evidence suggests that women should embrace these time-honored remedies, as science makes progress in proving what traditional healers have long known: botanicals work. Indeed, nature seems to know best, offering all the benefits of hormone replacement therapy with few, if any, of the side effects. Herbal remedies in use for centuries are gradually regaining acceptance in the wake of hormone replacement therapy's fall from grace. |