title: The risks and benefits of HRT.
abstract: For many years hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was regarded as the gold standard for treatment of osteoporosis. In recent years this status has been challenged, because of the lack of a robust evidence base for anti-fracture efficacy, emerging evidence of adverse extraskeletal effects and the demonstrated efficacy of a number of alternative options in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures. The current consensus is that HRT is no longer regarded as a front-line option for prevention of osteoporotic fractures and that its use for this purpose should be restricted to women with osteoporosis who have menopausal symptoms and to older women who are intolerant of other therapies and/or express a strong preference for HRT despite being informed about potential adverse effects. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which estrogen exerts its beneficial skeletal effects remain a major area of research that has important implications for the development of novel therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK. jec1001@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Compston
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors