Hormonal therapy administration

Hormone therapy has proven highly effective in controlling the menopausal syndrome, especially severe hot flushes (MacLennan et al. 2004), even at doses significantly lower than those used until now (Speroff et al. 2000 Utian et al. 2001). Women s Health Initiative studies found that hormone replacement therapy, when administered as a primary prevention intervention for CVD in older women, increases the risk of heart disease and breast cancer. Even if a protective effect on fracture and colon cancer was observed, the risk-benefit ratio led to a recommendation of this treatment only for the short-term relief of menopausal symptoms (Rossouw et al. 2002 Anderson et al. 2004). The role of early administration of ovarian hormones to young postmenopausal women in the prevention of cardiovascular disease or late dementia remains... 

HRT (hormone replacement therapy) administration of estrogens to women or androgens to men who, due to menopause or age, have decreased levels of these plasma steroids. 

Alternatives to steroid hormone therapy for osteoporosis include raloxifene, bisphosphonates, sodium fluoride, vitamin D and calcium supplementation, calcitonin, and parathyroid hormone. Tamoxifen has estrogenic effects on bone and delays bone loss in postmenopausal women. However as a result of estrogenic activity in the uterus, long-term tamoxifen administration has been associated with an increased risk of... 

Byar DP, Cork DK (1988). Hormone therapy for prostate cancer results of the Veterans Administration Cooperative Urological Research Group Studies. NCI Monographs 7 165-170... 

Estrogen is more effective than any other therapy in relieving vasomotor symptoms, and aU types and routes of systemic administration are equally effective in a dose-dependent fashion. If treatment can be tapered and stopped within 5 years, no evidence of increased risk of breast cancer is seen. Alternatives to estrogen for hot flushes are shown in Table 31-6. Progesterone alone may be an option in women with a history of breast cancer or venous thrombosis, but side effects limit their use. For women with contraindications to hormone therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine are considered by some to be first-line therapy, but efficacy of venlafaxine beyond 12 weeks has not been shown. 

Anti-hormone therapy Gastroenteropancreatic tumours show a good response to the systemic administration of anti-hormonal substances, especially those which are directed against the biological activity and peptide secretion of these tumours. As a result, octreotide ther-... 

The administration of hormone therapy is based on the knowledge from hormone-dependent carcinogenesis and on the hormone sensitivity and dependency of classic tumors (breast, prostate, endometrium cancer) after in vitro and in vivo studies in experimental models [1]. Significant therapeutic experience has been further gained from certain analogs of peptide-hormones that are also reported below ... 

Most important, glucocorticoids should not be withdrawn abruptly in cases of acute infections or severe stress, such as surgery or trauma. Myasthenia gravis, peptic ulcer, diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, hypertension, psychological disturbances, pregnancy (first trimester), and infections may be aggravated by glucocorticoid administration. Hormone therapy is contraindicated in these conditions and should be used only with the utmost precaution. 

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