Parsemus Foundation’s Deputy Director attended the International Menopause Society conference last week. The meeting included a wide range of topics related to menopause, and the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) received a lot of attention. The general tone of the doctors and researchers was that hormone replacement therapy should not be disregarded as a method to deal with the symptoms of menopause, and in fact there are likely advantages to heart, bone and other systems. The timing of HRT, the types of hormones used and the personal background of the individual all need to be considered in the evaluation. One of the studies presented by researchers at the Karolinska Institute highlighted this fact by determining the effects of different hormones on the genes involved in breast cancer. Dr. Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, in partnership with Parsemus, presented evidence using a mouse model that HRT may even prove useful following breast cancer treatment. Before you or a loved one decides on HRT, make sure you educate yourself on the facts!
