Study: Hormone patch safer than pill. Hormone skin patches and gels, it seems, are far less likely than pills to cause dangerous blood clots. At least that was the finding from a recently published French study. Patches and gels are already known to be effective for relieving the hot flashes and sleep- interrupting night sweats that plague many women. No one knows whether they will prove safer than pills in terms of breast cancer, heart attack or stroke risk. A large study currently underway may answer that. But if they do, it may soften some of the backlash against hormones since a landmark study in 2. Ethinyl estradiol is a synthetic estrogen. It is often used with a progestin in hormonal birth control. What you should know about ethinyl estradiol. Critics of that study have long contended that it is the type of estrogen or progestin, the dosage, and the method of taking the hormones that may affect the health risks. The French study, while not the final word, is the strongest proof yet that this may be true, said Dr. Jo. Ann Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard- affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She has no financial ties to hormone drugmakers and just published a book giving women advice on hormone use. Evidence is mounting that the method of taking a drug and possibly the dose are important factors, she wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in the journal Circulation. Millions of women abandoned hormone pills after the Women's Health Initiative study reported in 2. The study tested Wyeth's Prempro and Premarin, which contain synthetic estrogens made from the urine of pregnant horses. Some people believe that estrogens from plant sources are closer to what the human body naturally produces and may be safer.
The plant forms are in many competitors' pills and also in patches, creams and gels. The French researchers compared 2. Women taking various hormone pills were more than four times more likely to suffer clots than women not taking hormones or receiving them through patches, gels or creams. The study was paid for by the French government and partly by hormone drug and patch makers. Why the difference in risk? Karen Bradshaw, director of women's health and an endocrinology specialist at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Hormones through skin patches are directly absorbed into the bloodstream, and therefore can be given in far lower doses to be effective, she explained. Before the Women's Health study, Prempro and Premarin accounted for half of the hormones she prescribed. Now they account for about one- fourth, and much of that is the lower dose of Prempro that Wyeth began selling in 2. Women's Health study. Find patient medical information for Estradiol Transdermal Patch on WebMD including its uses, side effects and safety, interactions, pictures, warnings and user ratings. Premarin and Prempro remain top sellers in the United States, according to IMS Health, a drug marketing information firm. A Wyeth physician, Dr. Eileen Helzner, noted that the French study did not randomly assign some women to get patches and some to get pills — the most rigorous scientific test. At least two previous, smaller studies reached differing conclusions on the clot risk, and more research is needed before definitive conclusions can be made, she said. She also noted that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not changed its Internet advice that all forms of hormone therapy . It's the size of a small postage stamp. You put it on your belly and change it twice a week. My sleep is important to me. Before starting on hormones she had . The FDA recently required new warnings on one such contraceptive patch — Ortho- Mc. Neil Pharmaceutical's Ortho Evra. Also, women should tell their doctors about any other drugs, vitamins or supplements they are taking. The herbal supplement St. John's wort can decrease blood- estrogen levels, undermining the relief any hormone treatment can give. So can certain antibiotics and other drugs. Posted E- mail . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification.
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