BEST POST-HYSTERECTOMY HORMONES.

Report #6501 4/30/95

Women who have had their uterus and ovaries removed usually need to take replacement hormones. A recent study in the medical journal, Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows that some benefit most by taking estrogen plus the male hormone, testosterone.

When a woman has her ovaries removed, she loses most of her capacity to make estrogen. The vast majority of gynecologists recommend that she take estrogen replacement to treat and prevent hot flushes, vaginal dryness, heart attacks, strokes and osteoporosis. Women who have a uterus need to take progesterone also to protect them from developing uterine cancer. However, these women do not have a uterus, so they do not need to take progesterone.

Doctors at Emery University in Atlanta wanted to find out if giving the male hormone, testosterone, along with the female hormone estrogen would give additional benefits without causing additional side effects. The women who took both estrogen and testosterone had a marked increase in bone density and much stronger bones /and a significant lowering of their total cholesterol and triglycerides. The combination treatment also helped to control hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and insomnia. The authors found that the combination did not cause any obvious side effects and did not cause the women to grow facial hair or develop acne.

An additional benefit of taking the male hormone with the female one is that it increased their interest in making love. The male hormone, testosterone, is the only known aphrodisiac for women.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News