- Title: USA: NEW STUDY LINKS HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY TO DEMENTIA.
- Date: 29th May 2003
- Summary: (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF PREMPRO HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 28, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 2. JOHN MORRISON, DIRECTOR OF NEUROBIOLOGY, MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL LOOKING AT PAPERS 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORRISON SAYING: "The study says this particular hormone replacement therapy which is estrogen plus progestin, a combined therapy, increases the risk of dementia in women over 65 years old. It's a very modest increase but it is a statistically significant increase." (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 4. VARIOUS OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY MEDICINE PACKAGES 5. PACKAGE OF PREMPRO PILLS (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 28, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORRISON SAYING: "We know from animal studies and human studies that estrogen by itself is more beneficial, is more advantageous for brain structure and functioning and is more protective against Alzheimer's disease, there are studies that have shown that. So you have to bear in mind that what's being tested here is this one formulation and from a biological perspective it's not surprising that this one formulation is not protective. And may even increase risk." (W8) NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 7. VARIOUS OF ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 28, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORRISON SAYING: "There will be new therapies developed that will be more physiologically sound, more biologically sound and they will improve brain performance to a better degree and they will then Prempro ever did and will carry less risk. I think HRT will be prevalent in the future, but the formulations will be healthier and much more biologically sound." (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 9. PREMPRO PACKAGE Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 13th June 2003 13:00
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- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAAC9NUOJP65W9B288WFV8WK9QZ
- Story Text: A new study linking the most common form of hormone
replacement therapy to dementia is adding to already
heightened concern about its safety.
The most common form of hormone replacement therapy in
the United States, called Prempro, does not improve mental
functioning as some earlier studies suggested and may increase
the risk of dementia, researchers reported Tuesday (May 27).
Prempro has already been linked to breast cancer, stroke and
heart disease.
John Morrison, Director of neurobiology at Mt. Sinai
Hospital in New York was not a researcher on the study, which
was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical
Association, but Morrison's expertise is the link between
hormone therapies and Alzheimer's disease.
"The study says this particular hormone replacement
therapy which is estrogen plus progestin, a combined therapy,
increases the risk of dementia in women over 65 years old.
It's a very modest increase but it is a statistically
significant increase," he says.
The study is the latest in a sometimes confusing stream of
reports on estrogen combined with progestin to combat
post-menopausal problems.
The hormones have been shown to halt or reverse
osteoporosis, lessen the risk of hip fractures and prevent
uterine cancer. But a major government study on long-term use
was halted last summer after it showed the estrogen-progestin
combination sold as Wyeth's Prempro carried an increased risk
of ovarian cancer, heart attack and stroke.
Despite the latest news on Prempro, Dr. Morrison says it
is widely accepted among the scientific community that
estrogen alone can improve brain functioning. "We know from
animal studies and human studies that estrogen by itself is
more beneficial, is more advantageous for brain structure and
functioning and is more protective against Alzheimer's
disease. There are studies that have shown that," he says.
"So you have to bear in mind that what's being tested here is
this one formulation and from a biological perspective it's
not surprising that this one formulation is not protective.
And may even increase risk."
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's report
involved an offshoot of the study which was halted. It found
the hormone combination doubled the risk for probable dementia
in women 65 and older and did not prevent mild cognitive
impairment. Translated to a population of 10,000 women taking
the combined therapy, that would mean an additional 23 cases
of dementia per year, it said.
The study involved 4,532 women, about half of whom received
the drugs while the rest were given an inert placebo.
Dr. Morrison says Prempro is problematic because its
formulation is made of substances that are unlike the hormones
a woman naturally has. While Dr. Morrison is not sure PremPro
will last long, he thinks hormone replacement therapy is here
to stay.
"There will be new therapies developed that will be more
physiologically sound, more biologically sound and they will
improve brain performance to a better degree and they will
then Prempro ever did and will carry less risk. I think HRT
will be prevalent in the future, but the formulations will be
healthier and much more biologically sound."
Wyeth, the maker of Prempro issued a statement saying it
had revised its labeling to reflect the study's findings. But
the drug manufacturer also pointed out that the average age of
women in the study was 71, an age when women are at higher
risk for dementia than 51, the age when most women begin
hormone replacement therapy.
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