Local estrogen therapy--clinical implications--2012 update

• Published in: Ginekologia polska 2012-10, Vol.83 (10), p.772-777
• Main Authors: Kokot-Kierepa, Marta, Bartuzi, Aleksandra, Kulik-Rechberger, Beata, Rechberger, Tomasz
• Format: Article
• Language: Polish
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Dehydroepiandrosterone - therapeutic use; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Estrogens - therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Poland; Postmenopause; Quality of Life; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators - therapeutic use; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - drug therapy; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - prevention & control; Testosterone - therapeutic use; Urinary Tract Infections - drug therapy; Urinary Tract Infections - prevention & control; Vagina; Vagina - pathology; Vaginal Diseases - drug therapy; Vaginal Diseases - prevention & control; Vulva - pathology; Women's Health; Womens health
• ISSN: 0017-0011; 2543-6767

With increasing longevity in Poland, women can now expect to live around 40% of their lives after menopause, and there is a growing desire for older women to preserve their vitality sexual function and quality of life. The most common urogenital symptoms associated with menopause are dryness, followed by irritation or itching, and discharge, with a substantial number of post-menopausal women also being affected by dysuria. These symptoms are the result of vaginal atrophy which is in turn caused by reduced transudation through the vaginal epithelium and reduced cervical gland secretions resulting from post-menopausal estrogen depletion. Vaginal atrophy generally occurs 4-5 years after the last menstrual period and progressively increases in prevalence in the subsequent years. Importantly vaginal atrophy is strongly associated with sexual dysfunction, and lower urinary tract symptoms, such as frequency urgency nocturia and dysuria, as well as incontinence and recurrent infection are reported more frequently in the presence of vaginal atrophy Those symptoms, apart from being bothersome for the patients also negatively impact their quality of life. Consequently before irreversible changes occur, early detection and treatment of vaginal atrophy should be implemented. Estrogen therapy is the most commonly prescribed treatment. Estrogens restore the cytology pH and vascularity of the vagina, resulting in symptom resolution for the majority of treated women. Because vaginal atrophy symptoms tend to occur later than vasomotor symptoms, many women do not necessarily require or wish to take systemic estrogen treatment if their symptoms are restricted to the urogenital tract. Vaginal estrogen products deliver estrogen locally to vaginal tissues with little or no systemic absorption and provide an effective alternative to systemic estrogen therapy for these women. Various vaginal estrogen preparations such as conjugated equine estrogens, estradiol and estriol vaginal creams, a sustained-release intra-vaginal estradiol ring and a low-dose estradiol and estriol tablets are useful therapeutic options in the treatment of this condition. Moreover; a low dose treatment with a minimised systemic absorption rate may be considered in women with a history of breast cancer and associated severe vulvovaginal atrophy. It should be mentioned that vaginal lubricants once applied on a regular basis may also be effective in alleviating the symptoms of vaginal atrophy and should be offe