Effects of hormone replacement therapy on ocular function in postmenopause

To evaluate the effect of hormone replacement therapy on climacteric ocular complaints, lacrimal secretion, intraocular pressure (IOP), and corneal thickness.

A prospective, controlled, randomized study on 50 healthy women (mean age 53.4 +/- 3.8 years) at least 1 year after spontaneous menopause. Twenty-five women (group A) were treated with transdermal 17beta-estradiol (50 microg/day) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (10 mg/day) for 12 days per cycle. Twenty-five untreated women (group B) were used as a control group. All participants underwent eye examination at the beginning of the study and after 3 and 6 months of therapy to detect ocular diseases and to measure lachrymal secretion, IOP, and corneal thickness.

No significant differences were observed between the two groups at the beginning of the study. After 3 and 6 months of treatment, we observed a significant reduction in the percentage of women in group A affected by ocular symptoms and in the severity of symptomatology in comparison with baseline and with group B (P < 0.01). A significant increase of both basal and stimulated lachrymal secretion was observed after 3 months of therapy in group A in comparison with baseline (P < 0.01). There was a significant decrease of IOP (P < 0.01) after 3 months of therapy in group A (P < 0.01), and a slight, nonsignificant increase of corneal thickness was observed in group A at 3 and 6 months in comparison with basal values.

Our data suggest that hormone replacement therapy may exert a beneficial effect on ocular symptomatology, increase lachrymal secretion, reduce IOP, and increase corneal thickness.