BACKGROUND: In postmenopausal women, progestogen should be added to protect the endometrium from hyperplasia or carcinoma induced by the unopposed estrogen. However, the effects of progestogen on bone mineral densities and serum lipodproteins have not been precisely evaluated in Korean postmenopausal women. METHODS: To evaluate the effects of progestogen on bane mineral densities and serum lipoprotein in estrogen rephcement therapy, we canducted a 2-year trial of long conjugated equine estrogen(conjugated estrogen 0.625mg/day) with or without cyclic progestogen(MPA 5mg/day for 12 days) in 120 postmenopausal women. In all subjects, bone mineral density was measured in lumbar vertebra(L2-L4) and femur neck using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DEXA) and serum lipoprotein was measured from the beginning of the treatment, 12 manths, and 24 manths later, respectively. RESULTS: BMD of femur neck in both groups increased but not significantly compared to basal level at 12 months and/or 24 months of treatment. As for BMD of lumbar spine, it increased significantly in both groups. Both groups showed a significant decrease in the levels LDL cholesterol, but there was no statistical significance in serum triglycerids. Conjugated estrogen plus MPA group in constrast to conjugated estrogen only group showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the addition of MPA of the daily of 5mg for 12 days cyclically in estrogen replacement treatment appear to be effective in postmenopausal women with protection on bone mineral density and maintenance of long-term favorable effects on serum lipoprotein.
Bone Density* ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Endometrium ; Estrogen Replacement Therapy* ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Lipid Metabolism* ; Lipoproteins ; Postmenopause ; Spine

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea. METHODS: Web-based (www.armd-nova.or.kr) registration was conducted for AMD patients aged 50 or more who were newly diagnosed by retinal specialists in Korea from August 20, 2005 to August 20, 2006. Patient data including ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiogram and/or indocyanin green angiogram (ICG), past medical history, behavioral habit, combined systemic diseases were up-loaded. RESULTS: Among finally enrolled 1,141 newly diagnosed AMD patients, 690 patients (60.5%) were male and 451 patients (39.5%) were female. The average age of AMD patients was 69.7+/-8.0. Early AMD was observed in 190 patients and 951 patients had late AMD. Classic choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) was observed in 18.6% of exudative AMD patients and 63.4 % had occult CNVM. Subfoveal CNVM was observed in 80.4% of the patients with CNVM. Among the 580 exudative AMD eyes that performed indocyanin green angiography (ICG), 184 eyes (31.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and 36 eyes (6.2%) showed retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Age, male gender, smoking, diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of the AMD among Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low rate of participation by retinal specialists, definite incidence of AMD was not obtainable. However, the estimated 1-year AMD incidence in the Pusan area of Korea is at least 0.4%. In contrast to Western people, 31.7% of exudative AMD cases were revealed to be PCV and 6.2% were revealed to be RAP. This discrepancy between ethnic groups should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment modality selection of Korean AMD patients.
Aged ; Angiography ; Choroid ; Ethnic Groups ; Eye ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration ; Male ; Membranes ; Photography ; Retinaldehyde ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization