The effects of two fixed hormonal replacement therapy protocols on blood lipid profile

Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT) is known to be accompanied by changes in blood lipid profile. The present prospective cohort study compared the blood lipid profile of healthy postmenopausal women treated with either (a) a preparation containing a fixed regimen of estradiol, estriol and norethisterone acetate (EENA, marketed under the trade name Trisequens); (b) a fixed protocol of conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEEMPA, marketed under the trade name Premaril Plus); or with (c) a concurrent group which underwent no treatment. Blood lipid profiles (total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG)) were performed at the beginning of the study and at 3-month intervals, for 9 months. The EENA-treated women showed a significant and profound decrease in TC and LDL-C when compared with their initial values, with the control group, and with the CEEMPA group. The CEEMPA group showed an increase in HDL-C values and a decrease in LDL-C values when compared with their initial values and with the control group, but no increase was shown when compared with an EENA group. There was a favorable decrease in the TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios in both treatment protocols. As the primary goal of prevention of coronary artery disease is total cholesterol reduction, the EENA protocol seems to be preferred.