The effect of the menopause and hormone replacement therapy on serum carboxyterminal propeptide of type I collagen.
We investigated the effect of the menopause and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy on the serum concentration of carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), which is a biochemical marker of type I collagen synthesis. A group of 124 healthy postmenopausal women, aged 45-53 years, had about 20% higher serum PICP than did a group of 40 healthy premenopausal women aged 35-52 years (114 +/- 35 micrograms/l vs. 95 +/- 26 micrograms/l (mean +/- SD); p = 0.002). The 124 postmenopausal women were also participating in a double-masked longitudinal study with two placebo groups and four different hormone replacement therapy groups. The four hormone regimens resulted in similar responses in serum PICP. Compared with placebo, 1 year of treatment with any of the four hormone replacement therapies significantly decreased serum PICP to premenopausal levels. We conclude that the formation of type I collagen is increased shortly after the menopause and that hormone replacement therapy reverses this increase.
Hassager
C
C
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Glostrup Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Fabbri-Mabelli
G
G
Christiansen
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008593:Menopause / Q000378:metabolism*; D008597:Menstrual Cycle; D008875:Middle Aged; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011347:Procollagen / Q000097:blood*
D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011347:Procollagen; C042813:procollagen type I carboxy terminal peptide