Nanostructured transdermal hormone replacement therapy for relieving menopausal symptoms: a confocal Raman spectroscopy study

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the safety and efficacy of a transdermal nanostructured formulation of progesterone (10%) combined with estriol (0.1%) + estradiol (0.25%) for relieving postmenopausal symptoms.

METHODS:

A total of 66 postmenopausal Brazilian women with climacteric symptoms of natural menopause received transdermal nanostructured formulations of progesterone and estrogens in the forearm daily for 60 months to mimic the normal ovarian secretory pattern. Confocal Raman spectroscopy of hormones in skin layers was performed. Clinical parameters, serum concentrations of estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone, blood pressure, BI-RADS classification from bilateral mammography, and symptomatic relief were compared between baseline and 60 months post-treatment. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02033512.

RESULTS:

An improvement in climacteric symptoms was reported in 92.5% of women evaluated before and after 60 months of treatment. The serum concentrations of estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone changed significantly ( p<0.05) after treatment; the values of serum follicle-stimulating hormone decreased after 60 months from 82.04±4.9 to 57.12±4.1 IU/mL. A bilateral mammography assessment of the breasts revealed normal results in all women. No adverse health-related events were attributed to this hormone replacement therapy protocol.

CONCLUSION:

The nanostructured formulation is safe and effective in re-establishing optimal serum levels of estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone and relieving the symptoms of menopause. This transdermal hormone replacement therapy may alleviate climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women.

Related collections

Most cited references 42

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Hormone therapy and venous thromboembolism among postmenopausal women: impact of the route of estrogen administration and progestogens: the ESTHER study.

Marianne Canonico, Emmanuel Oger, Geneviève Plu-Bureau … (2007)

Oral estrogen therapy increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in postmenopausal women. Transdermal estrogen may be safer. However, currently available data have limited the ability to investigate the wide variety of types of progestogen. We performed a multicenter case-control study of VTE among postmenopausal women 45 to 70 years of age between 1999 and 2005 in France. We recruited 271 consecutive cases with a first documented episode of idiopathic VTE (208 hospital cases, 63 outpatient cases) and 610 controls (426 hospital controls, 184 community controls) matched for center, age, and admission date. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, odds ratios (ORs) for VTE in current users of oral and transdermal estrogen compared with nonusers were 4.2 (95% CI, 1.5 to 11.6) and 0.9 (95% CI, 0.4 to 2.1), respectively. There was no significant association of VTE with micronized progesterone and pregnane derivatives (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.3 to 1.9 and OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.4 to 2.3, respectively). In contrast, norpregnane derivatives were associated with a 4-fold-increased VTE risk (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.5 to 10.0). Oral but not transdermal estrogen is associated with an increased VTE risk. In addition, our data suggest that norpregnane derivatives may be thrombogenic, whereas micronized progesterone and pregnane derivatives appear safe with respect to thrombotic risk. If confirmed, these findings could benefit women in the management of their menopausal symptoms with respect to the VTE risk associated with oral estrogen and use of progestogens.

0 comments Cited 145 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Risk of venous thromboembolism in users of hormone replacement therapy.

Joel M Hawkins, J Carson, S Marsh … (1996)

The association between current use of oral contraceptives and increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been firmly established. Although data-sheets for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) carry similar warnings as regards VTE, evidence of an association is inconclusive. We carried out a hospital-based case-control study to investigate whether current use of HRT is associated with VTE. We screened all women aged 45-64 years admitted to hospitals in the area of the Oxford Regional Health Authority with a suspected diagnosis of VTE between February, 1993, and December, 1994. We recruited 81 cases of idiopathic VTE and 146 hospital controls with disorders of eyes, skin, ears, respiratory and alimentary tracts, kidneys, bones, and joints, and trauma; controls were matched to cases for age-group and date and district of admission. To increase the study power, an additional 22 cases of idiopathic VTE and 32 hospital controls admitted before February, 1993, were recruited retrospectively. Participants were questioned about medical and gynaecological history, use of oral contraceptives and HRT, use of other drugs within the previous 3 months, and lifestyle and socioeconomic characteristics. Detailed diagnostic data were extracted from the notes of eligible cases. Matched analyses, adjusted for body-mass Index, socioeconomic group, and history of varicose veins, were undertaken by conditional logistic regression. 44 (42.7%) cases and 44 (24.7%) controls were current users of HRT. The adjusted odds ratio for VTE in current users of HRT compared with non-users (never-users and past users combined) was 3.5 (95% CI 1.8-7.0; p < 0.001). No association was found with past use, and risk appeared to be highest among short-term current users (adjusted likelihood ratio test of trend in odds ratios across different durations of current use, p = 0.011). Current HRT use is associated with risk of VTE. The increased risk may be concentrated in new users. The number of extra cases appears to be only about one in 5000 users per year. These findings need to be weighed against the probable benefits of long-term treatment, including reductions in risks of osteoporotic fracture and coronary heart disease, and the probable modest increase in risk of breast cancer.

0 comments Cited 46 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Studying the effectiveness of penetration enhancers to deliver retinol through the stratum cornum by in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy.

Mickaël Mélot, Paul D.A. Pudney, Ann-Marie Williamson … (2009)

The purpose of this study is to monitor in vivo the effect of chemical penetration enhancers on the delivery of trans-retinol into human skin. Chemical penetration enhancers reversibly alter barrier properties of the SC by disruption of the membrane structures or maximising drug solubility with the skin. So far, most of permeation or penetration experiments are performed in vitro. Raman spectroscopy is uniquely placed to be able to measure biological processes in vivo and this paper shows for the first time that the effect of penetration enhancer on the delivery of trans-retinol can successfully be measured in vivo using this technique. Here, the volar forearm of volunteers was treated with four formulations. One formulation is a highly effective model delivery system identified from ex vivo experiments: trans-retinol in Propylene Glycol (PG)/ethanol, with PG being a well-known and efficient penetration enhancer. The other three formulations are based on 0.3% trans-retinol in Caprylic/Capric Acid Triglyceride (MYRITOL 318), an oil commonly used in skin creams but in two of them a specific penetration enhancer is added. One contains a lipid extractor, Triton X 100, whereas another formulation contains a lipid fluidiser, Oleic Acid. Solutions were applied once and measurements were performed up to 6 h after treatment. Remarkable differences in the delivery of trans-retinol between formulation with or without penetration enhancer can clearly be seen. Moreover, the type of penetration enhancer is also shown to influence the delivery. While using the Oleic Acid, which is a lipid fluidiser, a better delivery of trans-retinol in the skin can be detected. For the first time, the effect of penetration enhancer on the delivery of trans-retinol has been monitored, non invasively in vivo, with time.

0 comments Cited 30 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Clinics (Sao Paulo)

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Clinics (Sao Paulo)

Title: Clinics

Publisher: Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo

ISSN (Print): 1807-5932

ISSN (Electronic): 1980-5322

Publication date (Print): February 2014

Volume: 69

Issue: 2

Pages: 75-82

Affiliations

[I ]University Potiguar, Post-graduation Program in Biotechnology, Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Natal/RN, Brazil

[II ]Federal University of Ceará, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Group of Advanced Biomaterial in Chemistry (GQMAT), Fortaleza/CE, Brazil

[III ]Federal Institute of Science and Technology of Ceará, Laboratory of Biotechnology, Fortaleza/CE, Brazil

[IV ]Institute of Applied Biotechnology (INBIOS), Fortaleza/CE, Brazil

[V ]Federal University of San Francisco Valley, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Petrolina/PE, Brazil

[VI ]Federal University of Sergipe, Department of Physiology, São Cristóvão/SE, Brazil

Author notes

Barros B, Umbelino S, Freitas A, and Guerreiro S collected the data. Ruela R and Borges BC were responsible for the bibliographic review and data analysis. Lyra A and Botelho MA performed the statistical analysis. Queiroz DC and Fechine P were responsible for acquiring the SEM images and performing the nanosizer analysis. Almeida JG, Quintans Jr. L, and Botelho MA conceived the project and wrote the manuscript. Freitas A critically revised the content of the manuscript.

E-mail: marcobotelho@ 123456pq.cnpq.br Tel.: 55 84 3215-1272

Article

Publisher ID: cln_69p75

DOI: 10.6061/clinics/2014(02)01

PMC ID: 3912337

PubMed ID: 24519196

SO-VID: 9476b31b-303d-481e-9244-5cf9fe3e0fba

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

History

Date received : 9 April 2013

Date revision received : 8 June 2013

Date accepted : 12 July 2013

Page count

Pages: 8

Comments

Comment on this article

Cited by 4

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 161

See all reference authors

- Version 1
- Version 1