Effects of raloxifene and hormone replacement therapy on forearm skin elasticity in postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases skin elasticity in postmenopausal women. However, the effects of raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), on skin degenerative changes in postmenopausal women remain unknown. We investigated whether raloxifene increases skin elasticity, similar to HRT, in postmenopausal women.


METHODS
In a 12-month trial, 17 postmenopausal women (mean age, 66.4+/-7.8 years) received continuous raloxifene treatment (60 mg/day), 19 women (56.2+/-6.4 years) received continuous 17-beta estradiol treatment using a patch (0.72 mg/2 days) plus cyclic medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5mg/day, for 12 days/month), and 11 women (58.1+/-7.3 years) did not receive either therapy. In each subject, the skin elasticity of the forearm was measured using a suction device at baseline and at 12 months after the start of the study.


RESULTS
Raloxifene and HRT significantly increased skin elasticity from 52.4+/-3.8% and 64.1+/-7.2% at baseline to 55.1+/-4.7% and 67.4+/-7.4% after 12 months, respectively (P<0.05, each), but the untreated subjects did not exhibit any significant change in skin elasticity during the study. The delta value for skin elasticity was significantly higher among the raloxifene and HRT subjects than among the untreated subjects (P<0.05, each).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that raloxifene may have a beneficial effect on skin elasticity, which undergoes degenerative changes in postmenopausal women, in addition to its effects on bone metabolism.
Sumino
H
H
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, 501 Nakaorui-machi, Takasaki, Gunma 370-0033, Japan. hsumino@takasaki-u.ac.jp
Ichikawa
S
S
Kasama
S
S
Takahashi
T
T
Kumakura
H
H
Takayama
Y
Y
Kanda
T
T
Murakami
M
M
Kurabayashi
M
M
D000368:Aged; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000188:drug therapy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004548:Elasticity / Q000187:drug effects*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects*
D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride; D004958:Estradiol; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate