Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) offers many advantages for postmenopausal women since it is capable to reverse climacteric symptoms and to prevent cardiovascular and skeletetal pathologies. Postmenopausal symptoms can be also abolished or reduced by chronic treatment with estriol (E3), an estrogen devoid of side effects typical of estrogen compounds. As for urogenital symptoms, it has been reported that E3 treatment reduces their intensity mainly if administered by vaginal route through which it interferes directly on vaginal cells. The present study was performed to verify if low doses of E3 vaginally administered could be effective also in reducing urogenital symptoms after a short-period of treatment and if the addition of an antiinflammatory and antibacterial compound, benzidamine, could amplify the effect of E3 vaginal treatment. Estriol (E3) (0,5mg every day for 14 days followed by 0,5 mg every two days) or E3 plus benzidamine (E3+B) treatments were randomly assigned to 50 postmenopausal women suffering from vaginal and urologic symptoms. The intensity of vaginal (itching, burning, leucorrhea, dryness) and urologic (nycturia, incontinence, urgence incontinence) symptoms, such as the number of patients, significantly decreased after 3 months of the above mentioned treatments. The efficacy on urologic symptoms did not differ between the treatments, whereas E3+B showed to be more effective in reducing vaginal symptoms than E3 alone. Both treatments induced a similar and significant increase in the percentage of superficial cells of vaginal epithelium with a parallel improvement of distrophic features observed at colposcopic examination prior to the treatments. The intensity of psychological and neurovegetative symptoms was also reduced during the treatments, confirming that E3 circulating levels of 0,15 ng/mL reached with E3 vaginal treatment, are satisfactory to counteract neurotransmitter events involved in the onset of climacteric symptoms. In conclusion, short-term treatment with low doses of vaginal estriol is effective in reducing the major postmenopausal symptoms showing to have powerful and very quick effects on urovaginal symptoms mainly if an antinflammatory and antibacterial drug is added in the treatment.
Estriolo vaginale e benzidamina nel trattamento dei disturbi uroginecologici del climaterio
MELIS, GIAN BENEDETTO;PAOLETTI, ANNA MARIA;
1997-01-01
Abstract
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) offers many advantages for postmenopausal women since it is capable to reverse climacteric symptoms and to prevent cardiovascular and skeletetal pathologies. Postmenopausal symptoms can be also abolished or reduced by chronic treatment with estriol (E3), an estrogen devoid of side effects typical of estrogen compounds. As for urogenital symptoms, it has been reported that E3 treatment reduces their intensity mainly if administered by vaginal route through which it interferes directly on vaginal cells. The present study was performed to verify if low doses of E3 vaginally administered could be effective also in reducing urogenital symptoms after a short-period of treatment and if the addition of an antiinflammatory and antibacterial compound, benzidamine, could amplify the effect of E3 vaginal treatment. Estriol (E3) (0,5mg every day for 14 days followed by 0,5 mg every two days) or E3 plus benzidamine (E3+B) treatments were randomly assigned to 50 postmenopausal women suffering from vaginal and urologic symptoms. The intensity of vaginal (itching, burning, leucorrhea, dryness) and urologic (nycturia, incontinence, urgence incontinence) symptoms, such as the number of patients, significantly decreased after 3 months of the above mentioned treatments. The efficacy on urologic symptoms did not differ between the treatments, whereas E3+B showed to be more effective in reducing vaginal symptoms than E3 alone. Both treatments induced a similar and significant increase in the percentage of superficial cells of vaginal epithelium with a parallel improvement of distrophic features observed at colposcopic examination prior to the treatments. The intensity of psychological and neurovegetative symptoms was also reduced during the treatments, confirming that E3 circulating levels of 0,15 ng/mL reached with E3 vaginal treatment, are satisfactory to counteract neurotransmitter events involved in the onset of climacteric symptoms. In conclusion, short-term treatment with low doses of vaginal estriol is effective in reducing the major postmenopausal symptoms showing to have powerful and very quick effects on urovaginal symptoms mainly if an antinflammatory and antibacterial drug is added in the treatment.
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