Bone remodeling and structure in postmenopausal women treated with long-term, high-dose estrogen therapy

Conventional hormone replacement therapy preserves bone mass predominantly by reducing bone turnover but does not exert significant anabolic skeletal effects. In contrast, high doses of estrogen have been shown to increase bone formation in animals and we have recently reported high bone mineral density values in women treated long-term with estradiol implant therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms by which high doses of estrogen may increase bone mass in postmenopausal women. Iliac crest biopsies were obtained from 12 women who had received long-term treatment with estradiol implants (at least 14 years), on demand, following hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Indices of bone turnover, remodeling balance and cancellous bone structure were assessed by image analysis and compared with those of premenopausal women. Mean wall width was significantly higher in women treated with estradiol therapy than in premenopausal women (44. 8 +/- 4.8 vs 38.8 +/- 2.8 mm; mean +/- SD; p = 0.001) and eroded cavity area was significantly lower in the implant-treated women (3612 +/- 956 vs 5418 +/- 1404 mm(2); p = 0.001). Bone formation rate at tissue level and activation frequency were lower in the women treated with implants, although the differences were not statistically significant. Indices of cancellous bone structure were generally similar between the two groups. These results provide the first direct evidence that high-dose estrogen therapy produces anabolic skeletal effects in postmenopausal women and indicate that these are achieved by stimulation of osteoblastic activity.