Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Submitted August 15, 2006

· HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)

Function: noun

a. Medication containing one or more female hormones, commonly estrogen plus progestin (synthetic progesterone). Some women receive estrogen-only therapy (usually women who have had their uterus removed).

HRT is most often used to treat symptoms of menopause such as "hot flashes," vaginal dryness, mood swings, sleep disorders, and decreased sexual desire. This medication may be taken in the form of a pill, a patch, or vaginal cream.

Around fifty years ago the beginning of HRT started. With new research and knowledge, researches have found that with hormone replacement, a whole new era of medication has become available for anti-aging, and longer life expectancy. New scientific studies have given people a better understanding of how much sex hormones really affect disease as well as the aging process. HRT has shown new scientific evidence that it has the ability to restore, renew, regenerate and revitalize practically all aspects of your life. This varies from mental health, physical strength, and sexual well-being. Studies have proven that women who have tried this new estrogen replacement have lived longer than women who haven’t.

DHEA supplements are another that can be very beneficial to a woman’s energy level and their immunity. Changing a woman’s progesterone level can do so much for her well-being, that it almost seems like there is no reason not to try. The progesterone levels can relieve insomnia, help her sense of well being, and alleviate symptoms of PMS and or even menopause. It can also help with the prevention of some certain cancers.

Some women also can use testosterone replacement and that can help to raise libido and get relief from depression. Knowing what each of the hormones and terms used in relation to this kind of therapy can be an important part in keeping up and understanding the best things for you, and the questions you should be asking your doctor. One would assume that through-out your life these hormones would still be there and still be being produced, but research is finding that this may not necessarily be true. HRT is being researched so much and so rapidly because we know how important they are to our health and stability as a human. Replacement hormones can begin to make you feel younger almost immediately, and help to give you back the vital necessity to fight off disease.

Some research has also shown that HRT may help prevent osteoporosis, heart disease, short-term memory loss, depression and other diseases in post-menopausal women. There has also been some information on the contrary that led people to believe that some of the hormone therapy could lead to certain types of cancer. This information was released in 1999, but since then other research has been released. In 2002 scientists said that short term use of the hormone therapy would cause little to no chance of an increase in the likelihood of getting breast or ovarian cancer. It is even safer for women who are at a very low risk of breast cancer and other diseases. Therefore it is very important that the patient and the doctor really discuss all family history before making the correct decision for that individual person.

Estrogen and progesterone are the two most common hormones used in HRT, and they must be used in perfect balance in order for optimal results. It could become dangerous if a woman takes the estrogen without the progesterone because it could cause over-stimulation of the endometrium tissue, which is the lining of the uterus. This could lead to hyperplasia, which is an uncontrolled tissue growth that can lead to endometrial cancer. Progesterone counteracts this problem and that is why most women are prescribed both drugs at the same time. Although progesterone can be prescribed alone, it’s prescribed usually to prevent hot flashes or other problems caused by menopause.

Other recent research from Sweden suggests that HRT may be a huge help in assisting the health and improvement in cardiac function in postmenopausal women. This is said because of the proof that the combination of estrogen and progesterone shrink too large of heart muscles that could become dangerous. Although this has proven to work in women in their early to mid fifties, it could prove to have less of an effect in older women.