Hormone Therapy Soon After Menopause: New Findings Get Attention

Patients may want to discuss widely reported findings about hormone therapy for early menopausal symptoms presented Wednesday evening at a North American Menopause Society meeting.

The Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) randomized some 700 women within 3 years after menopause to 4 years' treatment with micronized progesterone (Prometrium) plus either oral conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin, 0.45 mg/day), transdermal estradiol (Climara patch, 50 μg/day), or placebo.

"The data showed improvements in cognition, mood, menopausal symptoms, and sexual function in younger women," Kronos Longevity Research Institute director S. Mitchell Harman said in a news release. "In addition, some measures showed slight evidence that hormone therapy might be cardio-protective in this age group, although results were not definitive and would require additional study."

The trials results have not yet been published.