OBJECTIVE: To compare the long-term effects of oral and transdermal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on serum @entity1255 levels in postmenopausal @entity1 . DESIGN: An open, prospective, controlled study. Seventy-five healthy postmenopausal @entity1 were recruited as eligible for the study. Fifty @entity1 seeking HRT were randomized to receive continuous @entity53 , either by oral (2 mg daily; n = 25) or transdermal (50 microg daily; n = 25) administration, plus 10 mg @entity21909 daily for 14 days of each 28-day cycle. Twenty-five @entity1 unwilling to receive hormone treatment received only @entity460 supplementation, representing the control group. Fasting blood samples were analyzed at baseline and then after 6, 12, and 24 months to determine plasma @entity1255 levels. RESULTS: Fifty-nine @entity1 completed the study. After 6 months of therapy, @entity1255 concentrations showed a statistically significant reduction in the treated groups versus both baseline and controls, and no further significant variations were found thereafter. The mean reduction in the @entity1255 levels throughout the study was 13.6% in the oral and 8.9% in the transdermal group, respectively, without significant difference between the two routes of @entity53 administration. @entity1 with the highest baseline levels of @entity1255 experienced the greatest reduction. No significant variations in @entity1255 concentrations were found in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Oral and transdermal @entity53 sequentially combined with @entity21909 shows comparable effectiveness in reducing plasma @entity1255 levels in postmenopausal @entity1 . @entity1 with the highest pretreatment concentrations of @entity1255 benefit the most by the lowering effect of HRT.

Long-term effects of oral and transdermal hormone replacement therapy on plasma XXXX levels.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'Women'] @entity1255 :: ('MESH:D006710', 'Chemical') :: ['homocysteine'] @entity53 :: ('MESH:D004958', 'Chemical') :: ['17beta-estradiol', 'estradiol'] @entity460 :: ('MESH:D002118', 'Chemical') :: ['calcium'] @entity21909 :: ('MESH:D004394', 'Chemical') :: ['dydrogesterone']
@entity1255 :: (MESH:D006710,Chemical) :: ['homocysteine']
