Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy on Endothelial Function in Menopausal Women

Objective To observe the effects of hormone replacement therapy (URT) on endotbelial function in menopausal women. Methods A total of 30 menopausal women were treated with 2.5 mg of Tibolone (Livial) daily. At the same time, 30 women with natural menopause without any treatment served as the control group. Endothelium-dependent (EDD), endothelium-independent (NID) vasodilatation function, and estradiol (E2) were examined by the non-invasive high-resolution ultrasonography before the treatment and at 12th, 24th, 36th and 48th week of treatment, respectively. Results After hormone treatment, E2 increased significantly and EDD was improved significantly (P＜0.05), and E2 was positively related with EDD (r=0.8092, P＜0.001). No change of EDD was observed in the control group whereas a significant increase was observed in the treatment group. Conclusion Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation dysfunction is prominent in menopausal women. Tibolone can help improve the condition.