Word: progestin
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...really looking forward to the year 2005. That's when a large clinical trial called the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) should finally answer the question "Do the benefits of taking estrogen and progestin for years, even decades, after menopause outweigh any risks?" There has been lots of evidence over the years that the answer is yes and yet plenty of data that lean toward no. Just last week a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association said that taking estrogen for 10 years or more doubles a woman's risk of dying from ovarian cancer...
Next, keep in mind that the J.A.M.A. study was conducted at a time when most doctors still gave women estrogen by itself. Since then, women who haven't undergone a hysterectomy have generally received estrogen plus progestin because the combo reduces the risk of uterine cancer. It's quite possible taking both drugs reduces the risk of ovarian cancer as well...
Clearly, medical researchers are not as confident of the health benefits of long-term hormone therapy as they used to be. Investigators were surprised last year when preliminary evidence from the WHI revealed that taking estrogen with or without progestin slightly increased the risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes over a two-year period. The researchers are waiting for the final results to see if the short-term risk is outweighed by any long-term protection for the heart...
Like ordinary contraceptive pills, Seasonale contains two different hormones: progestin, which inhibits the release of eggs from the ovaries; and estrogen, which holds the uterine lining together. The idea is to take Seasonale every day for 12 weeks. Taking daily placebo pills for the following week creates a short interruption in hormone levels that allows an immature egg to be discarded with only a little bleeding...
HORMONES AND THE HEART More confusion for women on hormone-replacement therapy: a second look at data released two years ago about women with heart disease suggests that estrogen and progestin may slightly lower the risk of heart attack among subjects with high levels of a form of cholesterol called lipoprotein-a. In women with normal or low levels of the cholesterol, however, the hormones seemed to raise the heart-attack risk. You should probably discuss this latest hormone dilemma with your doctor--and stand by for more conclusive data...