Estrogen-progesterone treatment of Osler-Weber-Rendu disease

A 56-year-old woman with Osler-Weber-Rendu disease had longstanding iron deficiency anemia from recurrent melena. Since neither laser photocoagulation nor surgery were successful in stopping the increasing transfusion need, combined estrogen-progesterone therapy was started. Except for slight bleeding from a temporary ileostomy, the bleeding and need for transfusion terminated promptly. This experience confirms that estrogen-progesterone therapy may promote cessation of bleeding gastrointestinal telangiectasias and indicates the need for controlled investigations.