POSTMENOPAUSAL SKIN, BONES & ESTROGEN

Report #6667 12/11/95

A recent report in the medical journal, Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, shows that the postmenopausal women who have wrinkles and thin facial skin are the ones most likely to suffer from osteoporosis or weakened bones.

This study confirms many others that show that lack of estrogen causes thinning of both the facial skin and bones. Lack of estrogen causes wrinkling because estrogen helps to thicken collagen the elastic tissue in skin. The authors also showed that skin ultrasound, a test to measure facial skin thickness, can be used to check for osteoporosis.

If you are a postmenopausal woman with facial wrinkles, you may want to ask your doctor if you are a candidate for a facial estrogen cream. Two recent medical reports show that applying estrogen cream to the face can help to thicken skin, decrease wrinkling and lighten age spots.(2,3,4) Another recent study shows that estrogen pills reduce bone loss significantly, but do not halt the 8.6% reduction in skin thickness that occurs every 10 years after the menopause. (5) On the other hand, doctors have known for more than 50 years that lack of estrogen at the time of the menopause can cause a woman's vagina to become dry and thin and that vaginal creams containing estrogen help prevent this. You can apply the commercial vaginal estrogen creams thinly to your face three times a week, but they are too expensive and greasy. Your doctor can prescribe a much less expensive, more elegant prescription of .01% estradiol in any facial cream/ or 18.75 mg of Premarin powder to one ounce of facial cream.

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