Hormone Replacement Therapy (Print Version)

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Hormone Replacement Therapy

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hormonereplacementtherapy.html

Also called: Also called: ERT, Estrogen replacement therapy, HRT, Menopausal hormone therapy

Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her period stops. It is a normal part of aging. In the years before and during menopause, the levels of female hormones can go up and down. This can cause symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Some women take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve these symptoms. HRT may also protect against osteoporosis.

However, HRT also has risks. It can increase your risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. Certain types of HRT have a higher risk, and each woman's own risks can vary depending upon her health history and lifestyle. You and your health care provider need to discuss the risks and benefits for you. If you do decide to take HRT, it should be the lowest dose that helps and for the shortest time needed. Taking hormones should be re-evaluated every six months.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

Facts about Menopausal Hormone Therapy(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - Large PDF file - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/pht_facts.pdf
Hormones and Menopause(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/hormones.htm
Menopausal Hormone Use and Cancer(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/menopausal-hormones

Overviews

Hormone Replacement Therapy(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/Hormone_Replacement_Therapy.cfm
Hormone Therapy: Is It Right for You?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/hormone-therapy/WO00046/METHOD=print
Menopausal Hormone Therapy Information(National Institutes of Health) - http://www.nih.gov/PHTindex.htm
Questions and Answers about the WHI Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Trials(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/whi_faq.htm

Latest News

Drop in Breast Cancer Rates Due to Drop in Hormone Replacement Therapy Use(02/04/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_75188.html
2 Years of Hormone Use May Be 'Safe'(02/03/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_75041.html
Hormone Replacement Therapy Shrinks the Brain(01/12/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_73726.html
More News on Hormone Replacement Therapy http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_h.html#hormonereplacementtherapy

Alternative Therapy

Menopausal Symptoms and CAM(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/menopause/menopausesymptoms.htm

Related Issues

Bio-Identicals: Sorting Myths from Facts(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/bioidenticals040808.html
Hormone Replacement Therapy: Risks vs. Benefits(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ596TUCKC&sub_cat=0
Hormone Therapy for Menopausal Symptoms: The First Few Years(Hormone Foundation, Endocrine Society) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZFSCKZGLD&sub_cat=2002
Phytoestrogens and Bone Health(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/Menopause/bone_phyto.asp

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Estrogen Replacement Therapy(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=estrogen+replacement+therapy
ClinicalTrials.gov: Hormone Replacement Therapy(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=(menopause+OR+postmenopause)+%5BCONDITION+%5D+((hormone+therapy)+OR+HRT)+%5BTREATMENT+%5D

Research

Breast Cancer Rates Dropped Even Before Hormone Results(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Breast_Cancer_Rates_Dropped_Even_Before_Hormone_Results.asp
Hormone Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer Relapse(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/results/hrt-and-breast-cancer0204
Hormone Therapy: Does Timing Matter?(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=392

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: The cost-effectiveness of hormone therapy in younger and older postmenopausal... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19114171&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: The impact of hormone replacement therapy on humoral and cell-mediated... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19086108&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Influence of modified transdermal hormone replacement therapy on the concentrations... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19059524&tool=MedlinePlus
Hormone Replacement Therapy -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=estrogen+replacement+therapy[majr]+OR+(hormone+replacement+therapy[majr]+AND+estrogens[majr])+NOT+progestins[mh]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
Estrogen-progestin replacement therapy -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=hormone+replacement+therapy[majr]+AND+(estrogens[mh]+OR+estrogen+replacement+therapy[mh])+AND+progestins[mh]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

hrt - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=hrt

Organizations

Hormone Foundation - http://www.hormone.org/
National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/
National Women's Health Information Center(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://womenshealth.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Menopause - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/menopause.html
Drug Therapy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drugtherapy.html
Endocrine System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/endocrinesystem.html
Female Reproductive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/femalereproductivesystem.html
Women - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/women.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Hormone Replacement Therapy is the National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/

Date last updated: February 05 2009

Topic last reviewed: December 22 2008