0000000000511162
AUTHOR
Camil Castelo-branco
Transdermal estrogens do not appear to modify the extent of lesional areas of aortic atherosclerosis in oophorectomized rabbits on a cholesterol-rich diet.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in older women in industrialised countries. It has been suggested that it is the cessation of estrogen production by the ovaries that puts postmenopausal women at increased risk of CVD. Estrogen therapy has demonstrated a protective effect against CVD and several reports suggest that diverse mechanisms may be involved. Oral estrogen appears to be associated with a better lipid profile than the use of transdermal estrogens; however, it is assumed that estrogens, oral and non-oral, have direct actions on the blood vessels that may exert an important role in cardiovascular disease prevention. To investigate the effect of transdermal es…
Review & meta-analysis: isopropanolic black cohosh extract iCR for menopausal symptoms - an update on the evidence
A systematic literature search revealed 35 clinical studies and one meta-analysis comprising 43,759 women, of which 13,096 were treated with isopropanolic Cimicifuga racemosa extract (iCR). Compared to placebo, iCR was significantly superior for treating neurovegetative and psychological menopausal symptoms, with a standardized mean difference of 0.694 in favor of iCR (p<0.0001). Effect sizes were larger when higher dosages of iCR as monotherapy or in combination with St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum [HP]) were given ( 1.020 and 0.999, respectively), suggesting a dose-depend- ency. For psychological symptoms, the iCRþHP combination was superior to iCR monotherapy. Efficacy of iCR was c…
A simplified method to quantitate atherosclerosis in the rabbit aorta.
A simple method to quantitatively evaluate atherosclerosis in the rabbit aorta by measuring macroscopic lesion areas (%) was attempted in the present study. Ten female New Zealand white rabbits were fed on a cholesterol-rich diet (5/1000 g of food) during 4 months. Five of them were oophorectomized at the beginning and all were sacrificed at the end. Total levels of cholesterol increased from 50.7+/-14.7 mg/dl to 782.8+/-296.0. No significant differences were observed between oophorectomized and intact rabbits. At 4 months, the cholesterol-rich diet caused in both, intact and oophorectomized rabbits, atherosclerotic lesions affecting 17 and 46% of the aortic surface, respectively. This meth…