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Sept.
9, 2002 |
Another Possible Side Affect of HRT
With the recent news of dangerous side effects,
women on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) are wondering about
whether they should continue to take such estrogen-based medications
that ease menopausal symptoms.
"If women who stop hormone replacement
therapy find that they are drinking more than usual, they
should realize that this could be a side effect of HRT discontinuation.
Reid says. They should probably seek professional help to
curb their drinking."
— Larry Reid —
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But those who want to go off the drugs may have
another side effect to worry about — an enhanced appetite
for alcohol, according to a research team headed by Larry Reid,
professor of psychology and neuroscience at Rensselaer.
The concern is based on a study led by Reid and
published earlier this year in the journal Pharmacology Biochemistry
and Behavior.
For the study, researchers administered the estrogen
drug estradiol valerate to rats for about a month. When the researchers
stopped administering the drug, they found that the animals drank
significantly more alcohol than their counterparts. Furthermore,
the increased consumption of alcohol lasted for as long as the
study did, which was several months.
Although estradiol valerate is not the same drug
mixture used in HRT, it is similar enough to make the study's
results potentially relevant to women, Reid says.
"If women who stop hormone replacement therapy
find that they are drinking more than usual, they should realize
that this could be a side effect of HRT discontinuation,"
Reid says. "They should probably seek professional help to
curb their drinking."
A guideline for problematic drinking for women
is anything greater than one or two drinks a day.
Reid collaborated on the study with scientists
from Douglas Hospital Research Center at McGill University in
Montreal.
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