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Vasodilator effects of estrogen are not diminished by androgen in postmenopausal women
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Objective:
To compare the effects of estrogen with estrogen-androgen treatment on vaginal blood flow velocity and fingertip postocclusive hyperemic blood flow response.
Design:
Prospective, randomized, parallel, double-blind study.
Setting:
Healthy human volunteers in an academic research environment.
Patient(S):
Postmenopausal women receiving estrogen replacement therapy for at least 12 months and treated with placebo before this investigation.
Intervention(S):
Esterified estrogens or esterified estrogen + methyltestosterone were administered orally; laser Doppler velocimetry was used to determine vaginal and fingertip blood flow responses at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of daily drug administration.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Fingertip postocclusive area under curve (AUC); vaginal blood flow velocities.
Result(S):
The AUC for postocclusive fingertip blood flow and vaginal blood flow increased to a greater extent in the estrogen-androgen group, but changes were not statistically significant between groups.
Conclusion(S):
Estrogen-androgen treatment does not diminish the vasodilator effects of estrogen treatment in postmenopausal women.