OBJECTIVETo determine the effects of raloxifene hydrochloride (RLX) on bone mineral density (BMD), bone metabolism markers and serum lipids in healthy postmenopausal women in Beijing.

METHODSA multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in a total of 204 healthy postmenopausal women (age 59.5 +/- 5.0 years and weight 62.8 +/- 8.7 kg) treated with either RLX 60 mg (n = 102) or placebo (n = 102) daily for 12 months. BMD, serum lipids, and bone markers were measured before and after drug administration.

RESULTSCompared with placebo, RLX produced a significant increase in both total lumbar spine and total hip BMD. For the lumbar spine, percentage increase in total BMD was 2.3% with RLX compared with a decrease of 0.1% with placebo (P < 0.001). Corresponding values for total hip BMD were a 2.5% increase for RLX and a 1.1% increase for placebo (P = 0.011). For biochemical markers of bone metabolism, serum osteocalcin and C-telopeptide, percentage decreases were 27.65% and 24.02% in RLX-treated subjects. Corresponding values in placebo were a 10.64% decrease and a 15.75% increase (RLX compared with placebo, both P < 0.001). For total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, percentage decreases were 6.44% and 34.58% in the RLX-treated group. Corresponding values in placebo-treated patients were a 1.44% increase and a 19.07% decrease (RLX compared with placebo, both P < 0.001). No differences were found for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride levels between the two groups. Only 5 subjects discontinued early owing to an adverse event (3 in the RLX group and 2 in the placebo group).

CONCLUSIONSThis study confirms that RLX exerts positive effects on the skeleton, increasing BMD and decreasing biochemical markers of bone metabolism, and has a positive effect on the overall serum lipid profile in postmenopausal women in China.

Aged ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Bone Density ; drug effects ; Bone and Bones ; metabolism ; China ; Estrogen Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Female ; Humans ; Lipids ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Postmenopause ; physiology ; Raloxifene Hydrochloride ; pharmacology ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; pharmacology

No abstract available.
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators*

We report five cases of pattern alopecia in female patients who are undergoing hormonal anticancer therapy for the prevention of recurrence of breast cancer after surgery. Three patients demonstrated male pattern alopecia with receding frontal hairlines, and two patients demonstrated female pattern alopecia without receding hairlines. The detailed clinical history showed that the pattern alopecia of the patients developed after the full recovery of global hair loss of the entire scalp due to previous cytotoxic chemotherapy. All of the adjuvant hormonal anticancer drugs that were used in the patients are antiestrogenic agents, either aromatase inhibitors or selective estrogen receptor modulators. Considering androgen effect on the hair follicles of the fronto-parietal scalp, the androgen-estrogen imbalance caused by the drugs was thought to be the reason for the onset of pattern alopecia in the patients. In general, alopecia that develops during cytotoxic chemotherapy is well known to both physicians and patients; however, the diagnosis of pattern alopecia during hormonal anticancer therapy in breast cancer patients seems to be overlooked.
Alopecia* ; Androgens ; Aromatase Inhibitors ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; Estrogens ; Female ; Hair ; Hair Follicle ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Scalp ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators

PURPOSE: Extended treatment with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) after tamoxifen has shown effectiveness in postmenopausal patients with breast cancer. However it is very difficult to start on AIs for patients who become postmenopausal after tamoxifen because tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that influences menopause, confusing the menopausal status of patients. We assessed the menopausal status and hormone concentrations at the start of letrozole treatment in women with breast cancer who were premenopausal when diagnosed with breast cancer and who became postmenopausal during 5 years of tamoxifen therapy. METHODS: We evaluated 164 patients with breast cancer who received extended letrozole therapy between May 2006 and December 2007. All had been premenopausal at diagnosis but became postmenopausal during 5 years of tamoxifen therapy. Menopause was defined as amenorrhea for >1 year, serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) concentration > or =30 mIU/mL or serum estradiol (E2) concentrations < or =20 pg/mL. FSH and E2 concentrations were monitored for 2 years after starting letrozole therapy. RESULTS: The median ages of the 164 patients were 45 years at surgery, 46 years when they became amenorrheic, and 50 years at the start of letrozole treatment. Of the 164 patients, 157 (95.7%) were amenorrheic, 14 (9.3%) had FSH concentrations > or =30 mIU/mL and 113 (70.2%) had E2 concentrations < or =20 pg/mL at the start of letrozole. FSH concentrations > or =30 mIU/mL were observed in 87 patients (57.6%) after 6 months of letrozole and in 133 (88.1%) after 2 years, and E2 concentrations < or =20 pg/mL were observed in 164 patients (100%) after 2 years. Times to reach FSH > or =30 mIU/mL and E2 levels < or =20 pg/mL were not significantly related to age at surgery (p=0.836 and p=0.228, respectively), at start of letrozole (p=0.855 and p=0.357, respectively), or at amenorrhea (p=0.098 and p=0.154, respectively). CONCLUSION: Applying postmenopausal ranges of hormone concentrations observed in normal healthy people to patients who completed 5 years of tamoxifen is inappropriate, because tamoxifen itself may affect FSH concentration. Further studies should focus on identifying an indicator of ovarian function so that these patients can start extended hormone therapy.
Amenorrhea ; Aromatase Inhibitors ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Estradiol ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; Humans ; Menopause ; Nitriles ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; Tamoxifen ; Triazoles

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in Korean women and its mortality rate has increased steadily. Although breast cancer is heterogeneous tumor, hormone receptor-positive tumors comprise about 75 percent of all breast cancers. Therefore endocrine therapy that works by targeting estrogen receptor is a pivotal treatment for breast cancers. There are selective estrogen receptor modulators, such as tamoxifen and raloxifene, aromatase inhibitors, such as anastrozole, letrozole and exemestane, fulvestrant and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists used in endocrine therapy. Endocrine therapy is effective in treating early breast cancer as an adjuvant therapy and metastatic breast cancer as a palliative therapy. Also in women who are at high risk for breast cancer, tamoxifen or raloxifene can prevent breast cancer. Studies for neoadjuvant endocrine therapy are emerging. Considering side effects of each drug and overcoming drug resistance are needed to maximize effectiveness of treatment and advance endocrine therapy.
Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal ; Aromatase Inhibitors ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Drug Resistance ; Drug Therapy ; Estrogens ; Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Humans ; Mortality ; Palliative Care ; Raloxifene Hydrochloride ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; Tamoxifen

The antiarrhythmic efficacy if low dose amiodarone treatment was studied in 30 cases of ventricular premature beats(VPBs). Amiodarone was administered 600mg daily in three divided doses for for initial 7-10 days as loadihg dosage,then 100-200mg once daily as maintenance. The results obtained were as follow : 1) The complete control of VPBs was achieved by amiodarone treatment in 90%, 27cases of 30 cases(all 11 cases with simple VPBs and 16 cases of the remainders with complex VPBs). 2) The QT interval and QTc were significantly prolonged, whereas heart rate was reduced significantly after amiodarone treatment. 3) In 27 cases of responder, the frequency of VPBs began to decrease overtly 2-3 days after amiodarone administration, then relatively stablized in 6 days, and complete cnotrol of VPBs was achieved in all cases about 10 days after treatment. 4) No significant side-reaction was observed except the decrease of serm T3 level after treatment.
Amiodarone* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Heart Rate ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators

The hormonal sensitivity of prostate cancer has been exploited clinically since Huggins and Hodges established the suppressive effects of castration on prostate cancer. Despite over sixty years of research into alternate modalities, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has become the mainstay treatment for locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer. Suppression of testosterone production, the primary goal of hormonal therapy, can be achieved by a multitude of treatments. The ideal timing, duration and composition of ADT remains undefined. At the present time, first-line therapy consists of orchiectomy, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogues or complete androgen blockade (CAB). However, new combinations and treatment settings show promise for improving outcomes and decreasing toxicity. This article provides an overview of the hormonal therapies currently used in advanced prostate cancer.
Androgen Antagonists ; Castration ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Orchiectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Testosterone

The highly unusual action of autoantibodies that stimulate TSH receptor is unique to the development of hyperthyroidism in Grave's disease. Assay of these antibodies has been used as a prognostic tool in monitoring response to antithyroid treatment, disease remission and relapse. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of TRab titre in terms of predicting responsiveness to antithyroid treatment by achieving a biochemical euthyroid status with minimum maintenance doses of antithyroid drugs. We followed up 28 patients (25 females, 3 males), 20 to 63 years old, who were newly diagnosed with Grave's disease. TSH receptor antibody (TRab) was measured prior to initiation of antithyroid medication. Based on TRab titres, patients were grouped into A (1.5-4.9 U/L), B(5-15 U/L) and C (>15 U/L). Our results showed that patients with lower levels of TRab (<5 U/L) before antithyroid drug therapy have statistically greater chance of achieving euthyroid status (33% in 6 months and 83.3% in 12 months) than those with higher TRab concentrations (combined B and C, 0% in 6 months and 18.8% in 12 months). This study suggests that TRab titre, detected by radioreceptor assay, is useful for predicting the outcome of antithyroid drug therapy in our patients with untreated Grave's hyperthyroidism.
Human ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Young Adult ; RECEPTORS, THYROTROPIN ; GRAVES DISEASE ; ANTITHYROID AGENTS ; HORMONES, HORMONE SUBSTITUTES, AND HORMONE ANTAGONISTS ; HORMONE ANTAGONISTS

Carnosol has been proved to have anti-breast cancer effect in previous research. But its ER subtype's specific regulation and mediation mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study is to observe the effect of carnosol on cell proliferation and its estrogen receptor &alpha; and β's specific regulation and mediation mechanisms with ER positive breast cancer T47D cell. With estrogen receptor &alpha; and β antagonists MPP and PHTPP as tools, the MTT cell proliferation assay was performed to observe the effect of carnosol on T47D cell proliferation. The changes in the T47D cell proliferation cycle were detected by flow cytometry. The effect of carnosol on ER&alpha; and ERβ expressions of T47D cells was measured by Western blot. The findings showed that 1 x 10(-5)-1 x 10(-7) mol x L(-1) carnosol could significantly inhibit the T47D cell proliferation, which could be enhanced by MPP or weakened by PHTPP. Meanwhile, 1 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) or 1 x 10(-6) mol x L(-1) carnosol could significantly increase ER&alpha; and ERβ expressions of T47D cells, and remarkably increase ER&alpha;/ERβ ratio. The results showed that carnosol showed the inhibitory effect on the proliferation of ER positive breast cancer cells through target cell ER, especially ERβ pathway. In the meantime, carnosol could regulate expressions and proportions of target cell ER subtype ER&alpha; and ERβ.
Blotting, Western ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; pharmacology ; Estrogen Receptor alpha ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Estrogen Receptor beta ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Pyrazoles ; pharmacology ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), raloxifene, on endometrium in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Double-blind randomized controlled study was designed for 138 healthy postmenopausal women to determine the effects of raloxifene on postmeonopausal endometrium. The women were randomly assigned to receive either placebo, or raloxifene HCl 60 mg/day for 6 months. Transvaginal ultrasound was done at baseline and at 6 months later. RESULTS: Mean endometrial thickness of normal postmenopausal women was 3.4 ( +/- 1.6) mm. Mean endometrial thickness was decreased by 0.2 mm in both groups, but with no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Raloxifene 60 mg/day did not stimulate the endometrium after 6 months of use in postmenopausal women.
Endometrium* ; Female ; Humans ; Postmenopause ; Raloxifene Hydrochloride* ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; Ultrasonography