Dr. Darrow Interviewed on KCAL-9 CBS News : Healthwatch

August 3, 2006

Healthwatch this afternoon: Is having dinner in bed the only thing that is hot about your love life, you might want to consider professional help.

Some doctors are using hormones to enhance the love life of some couples. Dilva Henry is here with more.

Dilva Henry: We hope it doesn’t apply to too many people out there, but for many people, definitely an issue. If the sizzle that use to be a big part of your romance has fizzled, there is hope, more and more couples are turning to hormones to get that loving feeling back.

Suzanne A is like many women going through menopause, hot flashes, mood swings, lots of sleepless nights, and her libido almost non-existent.

Suzanne: It was totally a lack of interest, the desire wasn’t there at all, there was no way to make you feel romantic, or ever like it was ever going to be part of your life again.

Husband John: It was frustrating, and it was stressful, it created a lot of anxiety.

Dilva Henry: But husband John tried his best to be considerate and patient.

Suzanne: If it was frustrating, he was very good. I was very lucky in that.

Dilva Henry: John’s patience paid off, Suzanne went through a series of tests checking hormone levels,
results showed her testosterone was also almost non-existent. Anti-Aging specialist, Dr. Marc Darrow:

Dr. Darrow: Her libido was gone, her sensitivity was down because her testosterone was down to nothing and that is usually a very easy thing to revitalize by just using testosterone.

Dilva Henry: And women aren’t the only ones susceptible to a low libido.

Dr. Darrow: Now on the male side we have the same issues as with the female….typically it happens a little later in life. Then we find that there is a loss of libido.

Dilva Henry: Doctors now know hormone supplements can also help men. If you can’t tolerate testosterone for some reason…

Dr. Darrow: Sometimes I give men progesterone, a woman’s hormone? No, it’s a hormone for men.

Dilva Henry: All explained in Dr. Darrow’s upcoming book, Loving Happily Every After

Dr. Darrow: The person has to be able to change their lifestyle in order to become a healthier person, a happier person.

Dilva Henry: And Suzanne did just that

Suzanne: It is very much back, and its back in almost a better way than it was when you were younger. You don’t have the children at home.

Husband John: It made a big difference and it just makes the whole relationship entirely different.

Dilva Henry: They are both happy now, when dealing with hormones it is very important to be in the hands of an expert and not self-medicate or buy products that you, your doctor, or your nutritionist, perhaps are not familiar with. For more information on hormone treatment and testing you can call Dr. Marc Darrow at 310- 231-7000.

She didn’t have any side-effects, really, some people might, but that is another thing that has to be discussed with your doctor. They are very happy they couldn’t be more loving and life is good again. Dinner is back on the table, and everything else is back in the bedroom.

Postmenopause and Periodontal Disease

A recent study in the Journal of Periodontology says that in an 11.7 year follow up, 57.5 percent of women lost at least one tooth after menopause.

Bone loss is to blame!

The American Academy of Periodontology’s press release on this study says “Estrogen deficiency after menopause and consequent loss of bone mineral density have been shown to be associated with increased rate of tooth loss. These relationships may be explained by increased severity of periodontal disease in estrogen deficiency.”

Click here to learn about estrogen deficiency

Risk of Stroke and Hormone Replacement Therapy

Researchers writing in the medical journal Maturitas say that there is no significant association between hormone therapy and risk of total stroke in women during 10.5 years follow-up.

Lia C, Engströma G, Hedblada B, Berglundb G, Janzona L. Risk of stroke and hormone replacement therapy. Maturitas Volume 54, Issue 1 , 20 April 2006.

From the abstract:
Objective
The purpose of this study was to examine the risk of first-ever stroke in relation to use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) among middle-aged and older Swedish women.

Materials
A total of 16,906 women, 45–73 years old, from the ‘Diet and Cancer’ study in Malmö, Sweden were examined. Women were considered as HRT users if they took systemic hormone therapy regularly. Incidence of stroke was followed for a mean period of 10.5 years.

Results
In all, 2148 (12.7%) women used HRT. A total of 461 stroke cases occurred during follow-up, 48 of them in HRT users. Incidence of total stroke and ischemic subtype had no significant relation to HRT use. However, an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke was found in women taking unopposed estrogen or un-native estrogen regimens. Although not significantly, the risk of stroke was 33% lower in women who started their treatment before menopause. Among HRT users, the risk of stroke was associated with advancing age, smoking, excess body weight and hypertension.

Conclusions
There is no significant association between hormone therapy and risk of total stroke in women during 10.5

Estrogen and Sun Damaged Skin

Researchers at the University of Michigan Department of Dermatology are currently recruiting subjects to participate in a study to test Estrogen’s effect on the skin. From the study abstract: “The purpose of this study is to investigate the way by which estrogen improves the appearance of sun damaged human skin. Accumulating evidence suggests that estrogen, taken by post menopausal women, may cause skin to look younger as a consequence of reduced wrinkles. Collagen is the most abundant protein in human skin and gives skin its strength and shape. Recent data indicate that short-term topical estrogen (17-beta estradiol) treatment increases collagen production in sun damaged skin. This study will compare the visual and microscopic effects from topical 17-beta estradiol (E2) when applied to the skin for a short-term duration. It is anticipated that the new knowledge from this study will enable development of new ways to improve the function of aged skin.”

More information

Hormone Replacement Therapy and Possible Cardiovascular Benefits in Women

Researchers writing in the medical journal Climacteric say that “Women who receive 2-3 years of HRT after menopause do not have increased all-cause mortality, and results of the present study suggest relative cardiovascular benefits compared to those who had not used hormones.”

Alexandersen P, Tanko LB, Bagger YZ, Qin G, Christiansen C.The long-term impact of 2-3 years of hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular mortality and atherosclerosis in healthy women. Climacteric. 2006 Apr;9(2):108-18.

From the abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on cardiovascular risk is intensely debated. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of HRT given for a few years on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and the severity of atherosclerosis.

METHODS: This analysis was based on a cohort of 1,458 postmenopausal women (55.8 +/- 6.1 years old) who previously participated in a number of randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trials assessing the efficacy of 2-3 years of therapy with various estrogen plus progestin combinations for preventing bone loss.

Women were followed on average for 9.8 years and came for a follow-up visit. Outcome variables were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and the severity of atherosclerosis, as estimated by semi-quantitative scoring of vascular calcification in the lumbar aorta on lateral radiographs.

CONCLUSION: Women who receive 2-3 years of HRT after menopause do not have increased all-cause mortality, and results of the present study suggest relative cardiovascular benefits compared to those who had not used hormones.

What Effects Does Estrogen Have On The Skin?

Researchers have found that “Estrogen loss at menopause has a profound influence on skin.” Writing in the medical journal Climacteric, study authors noted, “Estrogen treatment in postmenopausal women has been repeatedly shown to increase collagen content, dermal thickness and elasticity, and data on the effect of estrogen on skin water content are also promising.” Brincat MP, Baron YM, Galea R. Estrogens and the skin. Climacteric. 2005 Jun;8(2):110-23. Abstract

Women With Higher Levels of Estrogen Have Prettier Faces

Researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland announced that women who had higher amounts of estrogen in their urine were found to be more attractive than women who had lesser amounts. READ IT HERE

 

Hormone Replacement Therapy – Study Comments

Researchers writing in the Journal of the British Menopause Society say “Many women have been denied or have discontinued HRT because of the fear of risks, which may not have been put in perspective or fully understood.”

Davey DA. Hormone replacement therapy: time to move on? J Br Menopause Soc. 2006 Jun;12(2):75-80.

Hormone replacement therapy: time to move on?
The risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) need to be put in perspective. In the analysis of clinical trials, emphasis is often placed on relative risks, statistical significance and 95% confidence intervals, whereas, from a clinical perspective, more may be gained from a consideration of the absolute and attributable risks of therapy.

The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences recommended that the frequency of adverse events be categorized as ‘rare’ if less than 1/1000 but more than 1/10,000, and as ‘very rare’ if less than 1/10,000. In the analyses of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the attributable risks were ‘appreciable’ (i.e. more than 1/1000) only in women aged over 70 years, with the exception of the risks of venous thromboembolism and stroke. The women in the WHI trial do not represent the relatively younger, healthy, postmenopausal women most commonly prescribed HRT, who are probably at much lower risk.

Moreover, the WHI trial did not take into account the benefit of relief of menopausal symptoms, which is, for many women, paramount and outweighs the ‘rare’ long-term risks. Age may be a useful guide to risks and some simple guidelines for management, based on age, are suggested. Many women have been denied or have discontinued HRT because of the fear of risks, which may not have been put in perspective or fully understood. The care of postmenopausal women is not static, and sufficient has now been learned to enable each menopausal woman, with the help of her medical adviser, to come to a balanced and reasonable decision.

In the News

 
Walking off Postmenopausal decreases in bone mineral density, aerobic fitness, muscle strength, and balance. Researchers writing in the medical journal Physical Therapy say that “Menopause may induce a phase of rapid decreases in bone mineral density, aerobic fitness, muscle strength, and balance, especially in sedentary women. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects and feasibility of an exercise program of 1 or 2 bouts of walking and resistance training on lower-extremity muscle strength (the force-generating capacity of muscle), balance, and walking performance in women who recently went through menopause.”
Read more

 

 

From our last issue…
Men and Testosterone More Body Mass…Diminished Testosterone
Researchers writing in the medical journal Archives of Andrology say total testosterone and SHBG concentrations proportionally diminished with both the increase of BMI (body mass index) and insulin resistance index. Read more

 

 

Intimate Activity and Level of Satisfaction in Middle Aged and Older Women
Researchers writing in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology looked at women aged 40-69 for their levels of intimate activity and satisfaction, see what they found.

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Hormones, Oxidative Stress, Menopause

In the News…
Researchers writing in Clinica Chimica Acta, the International Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Applied Molecular Biology suggest that Hormone Replacement therapy may play a beneficial role in the protection against oxidative stress.

Clin Chim Acta. 2006 Jul;369(1):73-7. Epub 2006 Feb 10.
Unfer TC, Conterato GM, da Silva JC, Duarte MM, Emanuelli T. Influence of hormone replacement therapy on blood antioxidant enzymes in menopausal women. Clin Chim Acta. 2006 Jul;369(1):73-7. Epub 2006 Feb 10.

From the abstract:
BACKGROUND: Natural loss of estrogen occurring in menopausal process may contribute to various health problems many of them possibly related to oxidative stress. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most common treatment to attenuate menopausal disturbances. This study was aimed at evaluating the influence of HRT on the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; and glutathione peroxidase, GPx) and lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) in menopausal women.

CONCLUSIONS: HRT antagonizes the decrease of SOD activity that occurs after menopause, suggesting that HRT may play a beneficial role in the protection against oxidative stress.

Related links
Estrogen Selected Research

More Estrogen Links
Breast Cancer and Estrogen Replacement Therapy
What Effects Does Estrogen Have On The Skin?
Estrogen and Sun Damaged Skin
Women With Higher Levels of Estrogen Have Prettier Faces

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