CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, July 26 /PRNewswire/ — A new Journal of American Medical Association survey showed that hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of menopause may only postpone the symptoms of menopause, instead of treat or prevent them.
This is not the first news in an ongoing debate about the medical efficacy of hormone replacement therapy. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, estrogen-only therapy to treat chronic illness as a result of menopause — such as vaginal dryness — can have dangerous consequences. More emphasis needs to be placed on non-prescription methods, such as Replens Long-Lasting vaginal moisturizer, which is proven in clinical trials for addressing symptoms of menopause.
The original study involved 16,600 women aged 50 to 79 who were given the estrogen drug Prempro — a low dose HRT drug — for up to about eight years.
Twenty-one percent of Prempro users reported moderate to severe menopause symptoms afterward, compared with about 5 percent of women who’d taken a placebo. The results suggest that many women on placebos might have gone through natural menopause during the study and been better off for it.
“Although estrogen can have positive effects such as reducing the risk for fractures, hormone therapy should not be used routinely because it appears to increase women’s risk for potentially life-threatening clots that block blood vessels, stroke, dementia and mild cognitive impairment,” according to a task force supported by the HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Many women “medicalize” menopause and are too quick to turn to estrogen therapy to treat its symptoms, such as night sweats, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness, according to an independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health. More emphasis needs to be placed on non-prescription methods, such as Replens Long-Lasting vaginal moisturizer, which is proven in clinical trials for addressing symptoms of menopause.
Vaginal dryness ranks among the 10 most common problems occurring during menopause. Twenty-six percent of women aged 50 and above experience irritating, recurring vaginal dryness, compared to half that for women under 40.
“Millions of women suffer from vaginal dryness, a real problem that affects and interferes with their daily lives. The effects of vaginal dryness range from minor discomfort to chronic pain,” says Dr. Machelle Seibel, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Massachusetts.
More than four in 10 women (44%) between the ages of 40 and 59 in menopause or post-menopausal stages experience vaginal dryness. Among these, nearly nine out of 10 (87%) describe it as at least moderately bothersome, with 51 percent finding it “very” bothersome, according to a 2004 Gallup report on Vaginal Dryness. Women age 45 and older on HRT reported that prior to the therapy, 30 percent experienced vaginal dryness. But after HRT this number dropped only to 26 percent. Among women on HRT who experience vaginal dryness, half reported they experience it daily.
A decrease in vaginal moisture is often treated with estrogen. But women on HRT often still experience vaginal dryness.
The makers of Premarin and Prempro recommend investigating topical therapies such as Replens Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer first, if low-dose estrogen replacement is going to be solely used to treat vaginal dryness. For this, the risks of HRT simply don’t outweigh the benefits.
“The best bet for treating vaginal dryness is to use a vaginal moisturizer. Similar to the way a hand or facial moisturizer will deliver moisture and promote the healing of skin, an effective vaginal moisturizer will promote healing of the vaginal tissues and naturally restore vaginal moisture,” adds Seibel.
Replens Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer is hormone-free and forms a moist coating on the surface of vaginal cells, continuously dispersing moisture over 48 to 72 hours. This enables the cells to regain their natural elasticity and moisture, and re-establishes the vagina’s normal physiological function.
In a clinical study of 89 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women suffering from vaginal dryness Replens Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer was preferred by over 61 percent over HRT and KY Jelly. For more information about this study visit http://www.lildrugstore.com/replens/clinical.html#Vaginal_Dryness_in_Menopausa l_Women . For more information about Replens visit http://www.replens.com/ .
Replens Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer is available without a prescription at drugstores nationwide.
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CONTACT: Suzy Ginsburg, +1-731-721-4774, or [email protected] , forReplens
Web site: http://www.replens.com/
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