title: [Oral or trandsdermanl hormone replacement therapy reduces interleukine-6 levels].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the effect of oral and transdermal estrogen replacement therapy (ET) on circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) in post-menopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective open trial study in 55 healthy hysterectomized postmenopausal women with a mean age of 52 years. Twenty-seven women received oral conjugated equine estrogens (0.625 mg daily) and the remaining 28 received transdermal estrogen replacement therapy (50 microg/day) during 6 months. At baseline both groups were similar as to age, body weight, and body mass index as well as serum levels of LH, FSH, 17-beta estradiol (E2) and IL-6.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Baseline elevated IL-6 levels decreased significantly (p<0.05) after both oral and transdermal estrogen replacement therapy; this decrement showed no difference between the two groups. After the follow-up there were no differences in body weight and body mass index between groups; however, in the oral group there was a trend to increment this parameters. Serum levels of E2 and IL-6 were negatively correlated in the two groups and IL-6 was positively correlated with body mass index in untreated women and this correlation was the same in women with estrogen replacement therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The decrement of IL-6 after estrogen replacement therapy was similar for both routes of administration; in addition IL-6 had a negative correlation with E2 and a positive correlation with body mass index.
authors.affiliation: Unidades de Investigción Médica de Enfermedades Endocrinas y de Inmunología del Centro Médico Nacional del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saucedo García
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Basurto Acevedo
authors.forename: Guadalupe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rico Rosillo
authors.forename: Rosa E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Galván
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zárate Treviño
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000284:Administration, Oral; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6