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Hormone Replacement Therapy for Bone Loss

Hormone replacement therapy is a common treatment used today to help replace hormones in a woman's body following menopause. Lack of hormone production in women who have experienced the cessation of their monthly cycle makes them prone to bone loss caused by a lack of estrogen and progesterone. Called hormone therapy today, the benefits of synthetic hormone replacement for women goes way beyond the relief of hot flashes and mood swings, but also as a protection against heart disease, colorectal cancer and osteoporosis, or bone loss.

  1. Medications

    • Synthetic hormone replacement drugs such as Prempro, Femhrt or Ortho-Prefest contain estrogens or estradiols that replace some of the hormones commonly produced by a woman still experiencing monthly periods. Estrogen has long been known to help prevent bone thinning and loss, and has been known to increase bone thickness in some women. The Women's Health Initiative engaged in a study that published results stating that hormone replacement therapy (also known as HRT) lowered the risk of hip fractures as a result of bone loss or osteoporosis.

    HRT and Osteoporosis

    • Check with your doctor if you are over 35 years of age or nearing or post-menopausal to discuss bone loss and options for slowing bone loss. Bone density decreases with age, but more so for women than men. Common medications used to increase bone strength, including Tamoxifen, may be prescribed, but doctors will commonly suggest weight bearing exercise and nutritious low-fat diet and calcium supplements as well. If taken within the first five years of menopause, HRT has been shown to decrease fractures in the vertebrae by over 50 percent.

    Risk Factors

    • Determine if you are at risk for osteoporosis by knowing the risk factors. If you are older, your bones will show signs of thinning, but risks for osteoporosis increase if you smoke, drink or don't exercise. Women with small builds, those of Asian or Caucasian decent and those with a low intake of calcium are at most risk. Hormone replacement therapy is also believed to help prevent symptoms caused by osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that often afflicts women over 50 years of age.

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