May 18, 2024

Hormones against bone loss and osteoporosis

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Hormones have been shown to help women relieve some symptoms of menopause. If used early, they prevent bone loss.

It is a stage in life that every woman goes through or will experience. Some of them go through menopause well, while others go through it less well because they suffer from annoying symptoms such as hot flashes and regular sleep disturbances in addition to depressed mood and headaches. Most women start transitioning between the ages of 40 and 45, some even earlier. Menopause and the associated change in hormones are also associated with health consequences, especially for bones. The risk of osteoporosis increases significantly. Taking hormones can combat bone loss. However, opinions on hormone replacement therapy vary widely among experts. Internist and author Dr. Med. In an interview, Helena Orfanos-Boeckel explains why she supports hormone therapy for bone preservation in women.

Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis: Hormone replacement therapy can help

It is not only exercise that is important and beneficial for bones. Hormone replacement therapy may be beneficial for some women during menopause to maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis. (Avatar) © Daniel Ingold/Imago

Since the 1960s, so-called hormone replacement therapy — HRT for short — has been prescribed to women with severe menopausal symptoms. The hormone deficiency resulting from the change can be compensated for with the help of medications, so that thanks to HRT, for example, the frequency of hot flashes in affected women is reduced by 75 percent on average. Pharmaceutical newspaper Summarizes.

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What I know from those around me is that many women are afraid to take hormones because they believe that they may definitely cause breast cancer.

Treatment cannot exactly restore the previous concentration of hormones in the body, but menopausal symptoms and diseases resulting from estrogen deficiency can be specifically reduced or even prevented, according to the portal. Gynecologists online. At the same time, thanks to hormone replacement therapy, it is possible to resist bone loss and thus prevent osteoporosis. As studies show. When talking to a gynecologist or family doctor, you should always weigh the pros and cons in each individual case, since HRT, in addition to the benefits, also carries an increased risk of breast cancer, for example, in women with a genetic predisposition. , as Dr. Orphanos-buckle white. However, an experienced doctor believes that hormone replacement therapy is a valuable option for prevention, especially with regard to bone health.

For example, for a woman in her early 50s who already shows genetic signs of osteopenia on bone density measurements, a precursor to osteoporosis, I would recommend prophylactic administration of transdermal estradiol, combined with progesterone, even if she does not have it. Menopause does not suffer from estrogen because it can help bones not break down as quickly. I have encountered this many times in practice.

This article only contains general information about the health topic in question and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It does not, in any way, replace a visit to a doctor. Unfortunately, our editorial team cannot answer individual questions about medical conditions.