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Effect of long-term administration of progestogen on post-menopausal bone loss: result of a two-year, controlled
F Trémollières1, J M Pouilles, C Ribot
1UF Maladies Osseuses et Métaboliques, Service d'Endocrinologie, CHU Purpan, Toulouse, France.
Objective:
We determined whether a progestogen given alone to post-menopausal women may prevent bone loss.
Study Design:
Thirty-five early post-menopausal women who had not received any form of treatment to prevent bone loss were randomly assigned to a 2-year regimen of 500 micrograms/day of a gestagen derived from 19-norprogesterone (Promegestone) or a placebo for 21 days out of a 28-day treatment cycle. Bone mineral density of the spine was measured by dual photon absorptiometry.
Results:
After 2 years of treatment bone mineral density decreased significantly in the placebo group by a mean of 4.5%. In the gestagen group, the rate of bone change was significantly lower as compared to the placebo group (-1.3% +/- 1.2% vs -4.5% +/- 2% (mean +/- SEM), P < 0.05). There were no changes in the biochemical bone turnover parameters in the placebo group but in the gestagen group a significant decrease was observed in the urinary calcium excretion after 2 years.
Conclusion:
The results suggest that a gestagen with no androgenic action can partly counteract early post-menopausal bone loss.