RESUMO
Due to its minimal systematic adverse effects, transdermal estrogen is widely used for the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The present meta-analysis aimed to clarify the effects of transdermal estrogen on bone mineral density [BMD] of postmenopausal women. Studies were identified by searching electronic databases including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL databases, and also the Sciences Citation Index. Systematic review of articles was published between January 1989 to February 2016.Reference lists of the included articles were also evaluated and consultations were made with relevant experts. While 132 studies included the desired keywords, only nine clinical trials met the inclusion criteria and were finally reviewed. The pooled percent change in BMD was statistically significant in favor of transdermal estrogen. According to resulting pooled estimate, lumbar spine BMD one and two years after transdermal estrogen therapy was respectively 3.4% [95% CI: 1.7-5.1] and 3.7% [95% CI: 1.7-5.7] higher than the baseline values. The test for heterogeneity was not statistically significant based on the I2 heterogeneity index. One-two years of transdermal estrogen delivery can effectively increase BMD and protect the bone structure in postmenopausal women
RESUMO
Menopause is a critical stage of women's life associated with various complaints and distresses. Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), such as hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, and fatigue, are the most common menopause symptoms affecting about 50% to 80% of middle-aged women. Obviously, these symptoms, resulting from estrogen deficiency during menopause, can exert negative effects on women's health and quality of life and thus require to be managed through approaches such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Many herbal treatments for menopause symptoms contain and its components such as 8-prenylnaringenin, 6-PN, isoxanthohumol and xanthohumol. Recent in-vivo studies have highlighted the ability of 8-prenylnaringenin to reduce serum-luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), to increase serum prolactin levels and uterine weight, and to induce vaginal hyperplastic epithelium. Previous research has shown that hops extract can strongly bind to both estrogen receptors, stimulate alkaline phosphatase activity in Ishikawa cells, and upregulate presenelin-2 and progesterone receptor mRNA in Ishikawa cells. Numerous clinical trials have documented significant reductions in the frequency of hot flushes following the administration of hop-containing preparations. Nevertheless, further clinical trials with larger sample size and longer follow-up are warranted to confirm such benefits.