2007年VOA标准英语-Estrogen-Only Hormone Therapy Approved for Meno

By Melinda Smith
Washington
04 April 2007
 

Many women who go through menopause experience the side effects of 'hot flashes', characterised by flushing or perspiration¹, or waking up in a sweat at night.  For years, doctors recommended hormone² therapy consisting of estrogen and progestin to relieve these uncomfortable symptoms.  Then in 2002 and again in 2004, researchers asked women participants in a large American study to stop taking the hormones³ because of increased health risks.  Now a second phase of the same study says the use of estrogen only is safe for younger women who are within 10 years of the onset⁴ of menopause.  VOA's Melinda Smith has more information.

 
Gerrye Boggs
A decade ago, Gerrye Boggs was in the beginning phase of menopause.  As a participant in the Women's Health Initiative, she agreed to take hormones. "We all thought that there was a benefit to taking the hormone -- that it would protect our hearts," she said.

But during the 15-year study of 27,000 American women, researchers discovered that was not true: that hormones did not protect the heart.

Now in a report that appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, they say that some women who are closer to the onset of menopause can take the hormone therapy without increasing their risk of heart disease.

 
Jacques Rossouw
Dr. Jacques Rossouw of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland is the lead author of the study. "These findings are somewhat reassuring⁵ to younger women who want to use hormone therapy for relief of severe hot flashes and night sweats because of no increased risk of coronary heart disease and a trend toward a reduced risk of total mortality," he said.

For older women who still experience symptoms 10 years after menopause, Dr. Roussouw says the risk of heart disease is higher with the use of hormones. "There is something about hot flashes and night sweats at an older age, which are linked to higher risk," he said.  "And this risk is then further increased if those women take hormone therapy."

Dr. Rossouw and the other researchers emphasize the recommendation for hormone therapy applies only to estrogen, not estrogen plus progestin. "We found that estrogen plus progestin is worse for your heart health than estrogen only," he noted⁶.  "For stroke, it did not matter.  Both estrogen plus progestin, and estrogen only, increased the risk of stroke."

Other health problems associated with taking hormone therapy can include breast cancer and uterine cancer. So, medical experts recommend that all women weigh the risks of hormone therapy against the benefits.

1 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

2 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

3 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

4 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

5 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。