Think Twice About Hormone Therapy -British Authors
By Paul Majendie

FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - Think twice about Hormone Replacement
Therapy (HRT) drugs, say the authors of an upcoming book on the
treatment taken by millions of women to relieve symptoms of the
menopause.



"Far more research needs to be done about these drugs," said British
investigative journalist Jackie Williams, co-author of "The Estrogen
Myth Exposed," which is set to stir interest among publishers at this
year's Frankfurt book fair.

Women who use HRT to relieve hot flashes and mood swings or to
prevent osteoporosis were caught off guard in July after a U.S. trial
showed HRT raises the risk of stroke, breast cancer (news - web
sites) and blood clots. Shares in HRT manufacturers like the U.S-
based Wyeth and Germany's Schering tumbled.

Then last month a British study backed the U.S. findings, concluding
that women who took the treatment for five years had a higher risk of
breast cancer, stroke and blood clots in the lung but were overall
less likely to suffer from bowel cancer or hip fractures.

In an interview with Reuters, Williams said she and co-author Helen
Woollin had been working for women's voluntary health organizations
for some years and realized there was a huge gap in knowledge about
HRT drugs.

"We have been looking into 40 years of research into women's
menopausal problems and we have a stark message for them: 'Be careful
taking any synthetic hormones as you may be causing the very diseases
you are trying to prevent,"' she said.

She called on the medical profession to be much more aware of any
possible side effects.

"We have been contacted by many hundreds of women who have incurred
health problems due to these drugs. Their doctors have not been able
to help them," she said.

"I think doctors should be far more informed about the nutritional
aspects of health," she added. "These latest trials and studies have
confirmed what has been evident to a lot of people for a long time."

In the U.S. study of 16,600 women, HRT was shown to lower the risk of
osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease, and colon cancer. But it
raised the number of strokes by 41 percent, heart attack by 29
percent and breast cancer by 26 percent.

The book's British publishers say they are firmly convinced its
timing is topical.

"We have received very strong international interest," said Fiona
Langdon, International Sales Director of Virgin Books.

Williams said that women around the world should be much more
questioning about how they treat their bodies.

"Up till now, medical opinion currently assumed that estrogen
production ceased at menopause and that all women need this treatment
to remain healthy. This is often far from the truth," she said.

"By prescribing more and more estrogen and other synthetic hormones,
doctors may increase the risk of disease."

Calling for more money to be spent on research into the side effects
of HRT, she concluded: "I think drugs should not be the first resort
for women's symptoms of menopause."


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