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American Morning
'House Call'
Aired November 25, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Concerns about the health threats posed by standard hormone replacement therapy raise questions about where women with menopausal symptoms can turn.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us this morning from the CNN Center with some options.
Good morning to you again, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
It's been about a year and a half since the studies came out that link traditional hormone replacement therapy, that is taking a pill, linked it to breast cancer and to heart disease. Now since then, two other alternatives have come out. They're both drugs. They're both hormones. They're both by prescription. But one is a patch that is put on the body. And the other, this one here that you see, is a ring that's inserted into the vagina that delivers hormones that way. And these two new therapies have many people thinking, are they actually better or not?
First, let's go over exactly what they are. The ring claims to fight hot flashes and night sweats, and needs to be replaced every three months. The patch also fights hot flashes, and night sweats and osteoporosis, and needs to be replaced once a week. It is put either on the stomach or on the rear end. And in both cases, the hormones that are delivered to the person wearing these devices are lower than the levels of hormones that you get when you actually take it in a pill -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Quick question for you. The bottom line would be which one is better? And did the new ones pose any of the same risks that the old ones posed?
COHEN: They do indeed pose some of the same risks. And actually, the two of them are different, and I'll talk about them in a minute. Let's go over the ring a little bit. It increases -- when you use this ring, it increases the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, heart disease and stroke. The patch could increase the risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, but actually lower the risk of blood clots. And that's because since it's in a patch form, rather than actually going through your liver, it actually reduces the risk of those clots. The ring is just estrogen. The other one is a combination of estrogen and progestin, a combination of two different hormones -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: And finally -- I wasn't sure if you were going to toss to a sound bite. Quick question for you, what about other non-drug options? What can people do? there have been the old wife's tale, I think it's fair to say, about ways to relieve the sometimes horrible symptoms of menopause. What are the ones that actually work?
COHEN: That's right. For some people, the symptoms really are horrible. And some of those people really don't want to try drugs. They said after the study that came out, they really don't want to try drugs in any form. So there's been more and more research on alternatives. Let's go through what some of those alternatives are. First of all, there have been studies that showed that deep breathing, sort of the yoga type of breathing and other stress-reduction techniques can actually reduce some hot flashes and some of the symptoms of menopause, that it's actually that easy. Also exercising and not smoking. Those are crucial if you want to get through the symptoms of menopause. There have been some studies that show that taking soy supplements or eating foods rich in soy, and taking some herbs work. There are other studies that show that those don't work particularly well.
Also, some women take anti-depressants, even women who aren't necessarily depressed are taking anti-depressants to get through the symptoms of menopause, and there's been some studies to show that those work as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, great information. Elizabeth, thanks a lot.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 25, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Concerns about the health threats posed by standard hormone replacement therapy raise questions about where women with menopausal symptoms can turn.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us this morning from the CNN Center with some options.
Good morning to you again, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
It's been about a year and a half since the studies came out that link traditional hormone replacement therapy, that is taking a pill, linked it to breast cancer and to heart disease. Now since then, two other alternatives have come out. They're both drugs. They're both hormones. They're both by prescription. But one is a patch that is put on the body. And the other, this one here that you see, is a ring that's inserted into the vagina that delivers hormones that way. And these two new therapies have many people thinking, are they actually better or not?
First, let's go over exactly what they are. The ring claims to fight hot flashes and night sweats, and needs to be replaced every three months. The patch also fights hot flashes, and night sweats and osteoporosis, and needs to be replaced once a week. It is put either on the stomach or on the rear end. And in both cases, the hormones that are delivered to the person wearing these devices are lower than the levels of hormones that you get when you actually take it in a pill -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Quick question for you. The bottom line would be which one is better? And did the new ones pose any of the same risks that the old ones posed?
COHEN: They do indeed pose some of the same risks. And actually, the two of them are different, and I'll talk about them in a minute. Let's go over the ring a little bit. It increases -- when you use this ring, it increases the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, heart disease and stroke. The patch could increase the risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, but actually lower the risk of blood clots. And that's because since it's in a patch form, rather than actually going through your liver, it actually reduces the risk of those clots. The ring is just estrogen. The other one is a combination of estrogen and progestin, a combination of two different hormones -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: And finally -- I wasn't sure if you were going to toss to a sound bite. Quick question for you, what about other non-drug options? What can people do? there have been the old wife's tale, I think it's fair to say, about ways to relieve the sometimes horrible symptoms of menopause. What are the ones that actually work?
COHEN: That's right. For some people, the symptoms really are horrible. And some of those people really don't want to try drugs. They said after the study that came out, they really don't want to try drugs in any form. So there's been more and more research on alternatives. Let's go through what some of those alternatives are. First of all, there have been studies that showed that deep breathing, sort of the yoga type of breathing and other stress-reduction techniques can actually reduce some hot flashes and some of the symptoms of menopause, that it's actually that easy. Also exercising and not smoking. Those are crucial if you want to get through the symptoms of menopause. There have been some studies that show that taking soy supplements or eating foods rich in soy, and taking some herbs work. There are other studies that show that those don't work particularly well.
Also, some women take anti-depressants, even women who aren't necessarily depressed are taking anti-depressants to get through the symptoms of menopause, and there's been some studies to show that those work as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, great information. Elizabeth, thanks a lot.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
