Preliminary observations on differing psychological effects of conjugated and esterified estrogen treatments.
During a double-blind comparison of menopausal replacement therapy with estrogen alone compared with estrogen plus methyltestosterone (meT), subjects who had been on conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) said they felt better when placed on esterified estrogen (EE). We, therefore, tested whether these estrogen treatments differed in their neuropsychological effects. Subjects were 34 healthy menopausal respondents to advertisements younger than age 66 who were on CEE at baseline. Each was randomized into the EE condition, either immediately after baseline or after they first took EE plus added meT for 8 weeks. We compared neuropsychological measures between these two conditions. Data included cognitive performance test results and symptom self-ratings. Multivariate techniques were used to adjust for the effects of treatment order. Compared with prior CEE treatment, EE treatment was associated with significantly improved scores on the Zung Self-Rated Depression Scale and on Switching Attention Test performance. Further investigation is warranted to determine if different forms of estrogen replacement induce different neuropsychological effects.
Department of Psychiatry, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
J S
JS
Friebely
J L
JL
Shifren
I
I
Schiff
Q R
QR
Regestein
D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004951:Esterification; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008777:Methyltestosterone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D045165:Testosterone Congeners / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004967:Estrogens; D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP); D045165:Testosterone Congeners; D008777:Methyltestosterone