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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2007 | Volume
: 53
| Issue : 4 | Page : 221-227 |
A prospective randomized comparative study of the effects of intranasal and transdermal 17 β-estradiol on postmenopausal symptoms and vaginal cytology
AR Odabasi1, H Yuksel1, SS Demircan1, DF Kacar2, N Culhaci2, EE Ozkara3
1 Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 09100 Aydin, Turkey
2 Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, 09100 Aydin, Turkey
3 Kirsehir State Hospital, 40200, Kirsehir, Turkey
Correspondence Address:
A R Odabasi
Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 09100 Aydin
Turkey
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0022-3859.33966
Context: Investigating the adverse effects of oral hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the clinical effectiveness of alternative combinations and route of administrations. Aim: To compare the effects of intranasal and transdermal 17β-estradiol combined with vaginal progesterone on vasomotor symptoms and vaginal cytology. Settings and Design: A 12-week, prospective, randomized comparative study was conducted between July 2005 and September 2006. Materials and Methods: Eighty postmenopausal women aged between 42-57 years, who had scores of ≥1.7 on the menopause rating scale-I (MRS-I) items "1-6", were randomly assigned to receive intranasal (300 µg/day, n =40) or transdermal (50 µg/day, n =40) 17β-estradiol continuously. All patients also received a vaginal progesterone gel twice weekly. Vasomotor symptoms were evaluated at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12. Vaginal maturation index (VMI) was evaluated at weeks 0 and 12 of the study. Statistical Analyses: The Mann-Whitney U and the Wilcoxon tests were used. P <0.05 was regarded as significant. Results: Thirty-two women in the intranasal and 29 women in the transdermal group completed the study. The total score of the MRS, the sum-scores of Factor 1 "HOT FLUSHES" and Factor 2 "PSYCHE" significantly decreased in both groups at week 4. Factor 3 "ATROPHY" scores significantly decreased only in the transdermal group at week 12. The VMI showed no changes within and between the two groups at the end of the study. Conclusion: Intranasal and transdermal 17β-estradiol combined with vaginal progesterone gel as a continuous HRT caused a similar decrease in vasomotor symptoms but did not have any significant effect on VMI after 12 weeks of treatment in this study population.
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