It is generally understood that symptoms associated with the menopausal transition (MT) in middle-age women is temporally related to declining ovarian function and the prevailing understanding is that deficits and poor health outcomes related to MT can be prevented and/or are generally resolved by hormone intervention (HRT).  However, a clear or significant decline in circulating estrogen during this transition period has not been demonstrated to indicate that a deficiency of estradiol at the time of symptom onset is responsible.  Still, supra-physiological doses of estrogens are given to women despite the fact there is a substantial risk for the induction of hyperplastic (cancer) diseases.
Researchers at University of California at Davis have discovered a previously unrecognized phenomenon that occurs in all women during the MT and represents the major endocrine dynamic at this time.  This phenomenon, which begins during the early MT, is not a reduction of estrogen production by the ovaries but an increase in the production adrenal steroids.  This discovery paves the way for identifying women who will potentially suffer losses/symptoms and will be candidates for further interventional therapy.  These research findings also provide the basis for understanding benefit from the administration of safer HRT alternatives to pure estrogenic therapy.

File Number: 20614 

Web site: http://techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/...

Disease: Metabolic/Endocrinology

Other Information:

Applications

• The invention provides a method to identify women who will benefit from hormone replacement therapy.

• The invention will provide a method for titrating HRT in individual women.

• By the identification of women who will particularly benefit from HRT this will avoid otherwise unnecessary treatment of women who are experiencing MT associated syndromes but may not benefit from HRT and thereby avoid HRT exposure and the attendant risk of cancer.
• Administration of estrogenic factors other than major estrogens reduces the risk potential associated with use of major estrogens.
• Formulation of safer HRT drugs.