| Medical Specialist |
Article |
Overview |
| Professor John Studd |
Understanding the Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) |
In this article Prof Studd explains the basic information that all women should know in order to understand what is going on and what can be done about treating the symptoms of the menopause. He also summarises some of the most frequently asked questions and provides the answers that he gives to patients visiting his Harley Street Clinic |
| Professor John Studd |
Why Women Need HRT |
Hormone therapy or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has received mixed press and therefore women are often confused as to whether or not it is a safe and effective treatment option. This article by Professor John Studd seeks to explain where the bad news came from, why the bad news was flawed, explains the more recent medical updates and describes who the various forms of HRT is appropriate for.
He says: “HRT should be recognised as being safe and highly beneficial particularly in women under the age of 60 who may need this therapy for symptoms relief, improvement of depression, energy and libido as well as protection of the skeleton. There is no evidence that such therapy in this age group is harmful and it is particularly beneficial in those women that have no uterus and do not need the addition of progestogen.” |
| John Christofides |
Vitamin D promotes good health and it's free |
This mainstream medical article explains how three quarters of the UK population has vitamin D deficiency during winter and spring and that elderly and immobile people are dangerously deficient all year round. Improving vitamin D status would improve bone disease and muscle weakness particularly in this group thereby reducing the very costly consequences of slips and falls. A national program of vitamin D screening and supplementation in the over 60s would almost certainly pay for itself in the long term.
The main role of vitamin D is in promoting calcium absorption. Without it, growing bones become misshapen (rickets) whilst adult bones become thin and brittle (osteoporosis and osteomalacia). Combined deficiency and muscle weakness in the elderly is a slow insidious process exacerbated by the menopause in women and is probably a significant contributing factor to hip and wrist fractures following a fall. |
| Professor John Studd |
Expert Advice on Hormone Replacement and HRT |
Prozac and Fosomax are not substitutes for HRT The first two articles in this series provided background information on the apparent conflicting philosophies for treating women with postmenopausal symptoms.
This article now goes onto describe how all too often in medicine we treat the symptom and not the cause. ‘Depression’ and low bone density are no exception. Here Prof Studd argues that it makes little sense to give antidepressants and / or bisphosphonates when the cause of hot flushes, depression, sexual problems and low bone density is simply a result of natural hormone depletion that can easily be replaced. It begs a simple question:
Why then do doctors do it? As Prof Studd describes in earlier articles - possibly because they are still worried about old, flawed data surrounding the safety of HRT. And he expresses real concern that these outdated prejudices may still affect clinical judgement.
The thinking is that the side effects (some would argue, the ‘effects’) surrounding the use of antidepressants are also well documented, but the extent is still not totally ascertained because the bottom-line is that despite the assertions no one fully understands the complexity of brain biochemical pathways (see Dr Robert Lefever). With regard to the use of bisphosphonates, as reported in an article by Patrick Coffey, dentists are now seeing an increase in the prevalence of a nasty condition known as ‘Phossy Jaw’ resulting from the use of these drugs.
This is essential information for all women (and their doctors).
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