As previously reported by Total Health in his article "HRT helps to prevent repeat knee and hip replacement surgery" by Prof John Studd, there is increasing evidence of the benefits of hormone replacement therapy for women. A recent paper by Prof Nigel Arden from Oxford Univeristy, published in The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases reports a 40% decrease in the need for revision surgery for patients on HRT.
The need for joint replacement revision surgery is not a pleasant prospect for any patient, and is often much more complex and expensive to perform than the original operation, so the results of this study are important.
In addition to treating the symptoms of menopause, HRT also protects bone by preventing bone reabsorption, Use of HRT for 6 months or more was associated with a failure incidence of 2.61 per 1,000 person-years-at-risk compared with 4.25 per 1,000 for non-users.
The researchers also found a "strong protective effect" beginning after the joint replacement, however, treatment adherence also influenced revision risk. Patients who adhered to the HRT reduced their risk of need for revision surgery.
Consultant Gynaecologist, Prof John Studd says, "The evidence is now clear that the safest and most effective way to increase bone density in women is by treatment with oestrogen". In his article The Effective Treatment of Osteoporosis with Oestrogen he goes on to say, "There seems no reason to deny women particularly under the age of 50 years relief of symptoms and protection of osteoporosis by denying them the transdermal oestrogen treatment. It seems that this is an important lesson that many physicians have yet to learn."
The time of a woman’s life when her ovaries stop releasing an egg (ovum) on a monthly cycle, and her periods cease
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