[Cardiovascular effects of selective estrogen receptor modulators. Current perspectives]

The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after the menopause for the prevention of the long-term complications of estrogen deprivation has recently been questioned after the publication of large clinical trials that failed to show benefits for postmenopausal women. Although these trials risk to dump the widespread opinion of the cardioprotective effects of long-term estrogen use, they have many pitfalls that prevent a direct clinical application of these negative results. Furthermore, the large amount of epidemiological and experimental evidence indicating estrogens as protective on the vascular system cannot be ignored, and efforts should be devoted to understand the reasons for the discrepancy of results of these recent large trials. In the meanwhile, different molecules should be studied in depth as for the actions on the cardiovascular system, and their specific mechanisms of actions should be elucidated. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM) are a promising family of molecules and some of these compounds have positive effects on cardiovascular risk parameters as well as on vascular cells. Large trials are ongoing to study the impact of these substances on cardiovascular risk, and the near future should provide us with answers on the possible use of SERM as possible safer alternatives to HRT for the long-term prevention of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.