[Estrogens. Replacement therapy. Mestranol 80 ug (1962) versus mestranol 20 ug (1994) in postmenopausal women....

A group of 37 postmenopausal women ingested mestranol (MEE) 20 ug daily per 90 days. Cervical mucus, vaginal citology, endometrial biopsy, 17 beta estradiol (E-2) low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), were determined in all of them before (phase I) and after such treatment (phase II). Besides, the relieve of vasomotor symptoms, fernlike cristallization and pyknotic nuclei cells, increase and 3/4 of the endometrial samples showed proliferation, in phase II. Endogenous circulating E-2 was not disturbed regardless MEE treatment and inverse relationship was attained on circulating lipoproteins, while LDL-C decrease (p = 0.01), HDL-C increase (p = 0.001), after comparing phase I vs. phase II. Chlormadinone acetate (2 mg/day/3 days) was administered at the end of the MEE treatment to avoid endometrial estrogenic persistence. Current studies should be enlarged to support the usage of new dose and regimen of mestranol replacement therapy.