Nams Update: North American Menopause Society Issues Updated Guidelines

In this latest Nams Update report dated February 18, 2010 for Medscape today written by Dr. Laurie Barclay M.D., the latest position of the North American Menopause Society on hormone therapy is that it is more favorable for women beginning HT close to menopause but decreases in older women and with time since menopause in previously untreated women.

This report is quite detailed, and if you are considering taking hormone replacement therapy, I strongly urge you to read the full article.

Every woman is unique, and the risks that one is willing or able to take are very different than another's. Also, some women are much more bothered by their symptoms than others. You also will have to look at your own health and medical history to see if taking HT is right for you.

I quote from the article: "There is clearly a need for HT in a certain population. There are a small percentage of women who are highly symptomatic at menopause, and they will benefit the most,” Gass said. “For them, the small risks associated with HT would seem reasonable and acceptable.”

The findings were reported as follows:

* Natural menopause has little or not effect on cognitive function or memory.
* Women over the age of 65 who start hormone therapy have an increase in dementia.
* Depression is no more common after menopause than before perimenopause. Some reports say hormone therapy improves mood and other reports say it doesn't.
* Applying topical estrogen treatment (remember Madonna's cream) directly to the vagina appears to be safer than oral estrogen or estrogen patches.

There you have it, ladies. To read the full article on NAMS update click here.


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