Hormone Creams Ease Menopause Symptoms
Study Shows Custom-Compounded Preparations May Also Boost Heart Health
Nov. 12, 2008 (New Orleans) -- "Natural" hormone creams may help relieve hot flashes, night sweats, depression, and other symptoms of menopause, a new study suggests.
As an added benefit, they may also improve heart health, researchers say.
The researchers studied custom-compounded creams made from plant-derived hormones that are biochemically similar to those produced by the body. A preparation contains one or more various hormones in different amounts to meet each woman's individualized needs.
Custom-compounded hormones have been gaining favor ever since a large government-funded study known as the Women's Health Initiative linked the long-term use of conventional hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer.
But there have been few well designed studies showing the custom-compounded hormone preparations actually work.
The new research suggests that these compounds "can make remarkable changes in a woman's life," says Kenna Stephenson, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.
"Individualized hormonal treatments are just what women need," she tells WebMD.
Stephenson presented the new study at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.
Custom Creams Improve Menopause Symptoms
The 12-month study involved 150 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women 30 to 70. Half were given conventional hormone pills -- birth control pills for younger women and Prempro (estrogen plus progesterone) or Premarin (estrogen only) for the menopausal women.
The other half received a cream that contained a customized blend of some combination of estrogen, progesterone, and the androgens testosterone and DHEA.
While androgens are often labeled "male hormones," they're necessary for women's health, too. A deficiency has been linked to menopausal symptoms, loss of libido, and other problems, Stephenson notes.
The pharmacist typically places the cream in plastic syringes that contain the precise amount a woman needs each day, she says.