title: The effect of oral estriol succinate therapy on the endometrial morphology in postmenopausal women: the significance of fractionation of the dose.
abstract: Postmenopausal women were given estriol succinate orally in a daily dose of 4 mg X 2 for 14 days or 4 mg X 2, 8 mg X 1 and 2 mg in the morning + 2 mg at noon + 4 mg in the evening for 4 wk. Each group consisted of 4 women. The effect of the estrogen treatment was estimated by the endometrial curettage samples taken both before and after the hormone treatment. The curettage samples were studied by both light and electron microscopy. The results showed that a treatment period of 4 wk was necessary to obtain any effect. When 8 mg of estriol succinate was given in a single dose only a slight effect was obtained on the endometrium but when the same dose was divided in 2 daily 4 mg parts, the endometrium showed clearly proliferative changes. Thus estriol is able to produce the same endometrial effect as estradiol. Ultrastructurally the hormone treatment caused an increase in the cytoplasm of the endometrial epithelial cells. Also, whorls of cytoplasmic microfilaments often appeared near the nucleus of the cells.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004717:Endometrium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D004964:Estriol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: C009341:estriol succinate; D004964:Estriol