Differential effects of oral and transdermal postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapies on C-reactive protein

Karine Lacut; Emmanuel Oger; Grégoire Le Gal; Marie-Thérèse Blouch; Jean-François Abgrall; Véronique Kerlan; Pierre-Yves Scarabin; Dominique Mottier; and the SARAH investigators

doi:10.1055/s-0037-1613608

Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Table of Contents

Thromb Haemost 2003; 90(01): 124-131
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1613608

Wound Healing and Inflammation/Infection

Schattauer GmbH

Differential effects of oral and transdermal postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapies on C-reactive protein

Authors

Karine Lacut

¹Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France
Emmanuel Oger

¹Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France
Grégoire Le Gal

¹Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France
Marie-Thérèse Blouch

²Laboratoire d’Hématologie, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France
Jean-François Abgrall

²Laboratoire d’Hématologie, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France
Véronique Kerlan

³Service d’Endocrinologie, Hôpital de la Cavale Blanche, Brest, France
Pierre-Yves Scarabin

⁴INSERM U 258,Villejuif, France
Dominique Mottier

⁴INSERM U 258,Villejuif, France

and the SARAH investigators

Abstract

Summary

C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of the main independent predictors of cardiovascular events. Oral post-menopausal estro-gen replacement therapy (ERT) increases CRP levels, but the effect of transdermal ERT is not well documented.

CRP, interleukine-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were evaluated in a randomised study of 196 healthy postmenopausal women, who were allocated to receive continuous oral estradiol-17β, (n=63) or transdermal estradiol-17β, (n=68) both combined with micronised progesterone, or placebo (n=65). Oral estrogen increased CRP levels compared with both placebo (p=0.010) and transdermal estrogen (p=0.004) at 6 months. There was no significant effect of transdermal estro-gen on CRP levels compared with placebo (p=0.997). No significant difference was found in the median changes for IL-6 and TNF-α between the three treatment groups.

In conclusion, transdermal estrogen has no significant effect on CRP levels at 6 months, but CRP concentrations increased significantly with oral estrogen although no changes in cytokine levels were detected. The clinical relevance of these effects remains to be determined.

Keywords

Oral estrogen replacement therapy - transdermal estrogen replacement therapy - inflammation - C-reactive protein - interleu-kine-6 - tumor necrosis factor alpha - randomised trial

Full Text

References

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