You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT JAMA
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 290 No. 8, August 27, 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  JAMA
  •  Online Features
  Original Contribution
 This Article
 •Full text
 •PDF
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citation map
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Citing articles on Web of Science (63)
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in JAMA
 Topic Collections
 •Rheumatology
 •Osteoporosis
 •Women's Health
 •Menopause
 •Randomized Controlled Trial
 •Alert me on articles by topic
 Social Bookmarking
  Add to CiteULike Add to Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Add to Digg Add to Reddit Add to Technorati Add to Twitter What's this?

Ultralow-Dose Micronized 17{beta}-Estradiol and Bone Density and Bone Metabolism in Older Women

A Randomized Controlled Trial

Karen M. Prestwood, MD; Anne M. Kenny, MD; Alison Kleppinger, MS; Martin Kulldorff, PhD

JAMA. 2003;290:1042-1048.

Context  Estrogen therapy is known to prevent osteoporosis, but studies have shown that conventional doses increase adverse events. Whether lower doses, one quarter of standard treatment, prevent bone loss is not known.

Objective  To examine the effect of 3 years of treatment with 0.25 mg/d of micronized 17{beta}-estradiol on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover in healthy older postmenopausal women.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted from July 24, 1998, through June 14, 2002, at a university general clinical research center in the United States. Healthy, community-dwelling women (N = 167) who were older than 65 years at enrollment.

Intervention  Dosage of 0.25 mg/d of micronized 17{beta}-estradiol (n = 83) or placebo (n = 84); all women who had not had a hysterectomy received 100 mg/d of oral micronized progesterone for 2-week periods every 6 months.

Main Outcome Measures  The BMD of the hip, spine, wrist, and total body measured annually for 3 years. Serum and urine biochemical markers of bone resorption and formation and sex hormones were measured at baseline, 3 months, and during years 1 and 3 of treatment.

Results  Mean BMD increased at all sites for participants taking low-dose estrogen (17{beta}-estradiol) compared with placebo (P<.001). Compared with participants receiving placebo, participants taking low-dose estrogen had BMD increases of 2.6% for the femoral neck; 3.6%, total hip; 2.8%, spine; and 1.2%, total body. Markers of bone turnover, N-telopeptides of type 1 collagen, and bone alkaline phosphatase decreased significantly (P<.001) in participants taking low-dose estrogen compared with placebo. Estradiol, estrone, and sex hormone–binding globulin levels increased in the estrogen-treated group compared with placebo. The adverse effect profile was similar; specifically, there were no statistically significant differences in breast tenderness, changes in endometrial thickness or pathological effects, or annual mammographic results between the 2 groups. The number of abnormal mammograms over 3 years was 15 for the low-dose estrogen group and 10 for the placebo group (8 occurred at baseline) (P = .26). There were no reports of breast cancer during the study.

Conclusions  In older women, a dosage of 0.25 mg/d of 17{beta}-estradiol increased bone density of the hip, spine, and total body, and reduced bone turnover, with minimal adverse effects. Future studies evaluating the effect of low-dose estrogen on fractures are indicated.


Author Affiliations: Center on Aging (Drs Prestwood and Kenny and Ms Kleppinger), and Department of Community Medicine, Division of Biostatistics (Dr Kulldorff), University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington.



Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Soy proteins and isoflavones affect bone mineral density in older women: a randomized controlled trial
Kenny et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2009;90:234-242.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Dehydroepiandrosterone replacement therapy in older adults: 1- and 2-y effects on bone
Weiss et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2009;89:1459-1467.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Higher muscle protein synthesis in women than men across the lifespan, and failure of androgen administration to amend age-related decrements
Henderson et al.
FASEB J. 2009;23:631-641.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

DHEA in Elderly Women and DHEA or Testosterone in Elderly Men
Nair et al.
NEJM 2006;355:1647-1659.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Prenylflavonoid Isoxanthohumol from Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) Is Activated into the Potent Phytoestrogen 8-Prenylnaringenin In Vitro and in the Human Intestine
Possemiers et al.
J. Nutr. 2006;136:1862-1867.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Effects of Exemestane Administered for 2 Years Versus Placebo on Bone Mineral Density, Bone Biomarkers, and Plasma Lipids in Patients With Surgically Resected Early Breast Cancer
Lonning et al.
JCO 2005;23:5126-5137.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Short-Term Graded Transdermal Estradiol in Healthy Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonist-Suppressed Pre- and Postmenopausal Women: Effects on Serum Markers of Bone Turnover, Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I, and Osteoclastogenic Mediators
Liu et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2005;90:1953-1960.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

From the library
Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:1532-1532.
FULL TEXT  

Will the Estrogen Story Change?
Journal Watch Dermatology 2003;2003:10-10.
FULL TEXT  

Will the Estrogen Story Change?
JWatch Gastroenterology 2003;2003:10-10.
FULL TEXT  

Hormone Therapy After the WHI: Thinking Outside the Box
JWatch Women's Health 2003;2003:1-1.
FULL TEXT  

Will the Estrogen Story Change?
JWatch General 2003;2003:2-2.
FULL TEXT  

The Search for Alternative Therapies for Menopausal Women: Estrogenic Effects of Herbs
Prestwood
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2003;88:4075-4076.
FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 2003 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.