Effects of low dose hormone replacement therapy on markers of inflammation in postmenopausal women

Objective: Concentrations of soluble fractions of cell adhaesion molecules [sCAM], C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) are predictive for future cardiovascular events in postmenopausal women. The effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on these inflammatory markers is not uniform. In the presented study the effect of a low-dose HRT preparation, on sCAM, CRP and SAA in healthy postmenopausal women was evaluated. Methods: Serum levels of intracellular adhesion molecules (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecules (sVCAM-1), P-selectin, CRP and SAA were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment with continuous combined HRT containing 1 mg micronized 17beta-estradiol and 0.5 mg norethisterone acetate. The concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides LDL-cholesterol and HDL-c were measured as well. Results: The studied low dose continuous combined therapy significantly reduced the concentration of sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and P-selectin by 25.3, 20 and 34%, respectively. Despite statistically not significant the concentration of CRP and SAA increased by 35.6 and 9.4%, respectively. A statistically significant decrease in the triglycerides and TC/HDL-cholesterol ratio has been found. Conclusions: The outcomes of the presented study suggest that HRT with low dose continuous combined HRT containing 1 mg micronized 17beta-estradiol and 0.5 mg norethisterone acetate have divergent effects on studied parameters of vascular inflammation. These effects are similar to effects of other studied HRT combinations. To our best knowledge this is the first study evaluating the effect of HRT on the concentration of SAA. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.