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Study Objective: To investigate the systemic absorption of estradiol in partners of postmenopausal women after making skin-to-skin contact with the application sites of estradiol topical emulsion., Design: Open-label, nonrandomized clinical study., Setting: Clinical study unit., Subjects: Fourteen postmenopausal women and their male partners (mean +/- SD age 57.6+/-8.7 and 49.1+/-13.3 yrs, respectively)., Intervention: Women applied 1.74 g/day of estradiol topical emulsion (containing 2.5 mg estradiol/g) to each leg on 2 consecutive days. Their male partners were exposed to the application sites by mean of vigorous skin-to-skin contact at 2 and 8 hours after application., Measurements and Main Results: Serum concentrations of estradiol, estrone, and estrone sulfate were measured in the female subjects and their male partners. The mean +/- SD estradiol level in the women at baseline was 2.9+/-1.5 pg/ml. Their average concentration (C(average)) increased from 15.3+/-14.8 pg/ml on the first day of treatment to 27.6+/-22.7 pg/ml on the second day. Among male partners, C(average) for serum estradiol increased from 17.0+/-4.3 pg/ml at baseline to 21.0+/-4.4 pg/ml on the second exposure day. Their geometric mean fold ratio for the area under the serum concentration-time curve from 0-24 hours was 1.25 (baseline vs after second exposure, p<0.0001)., Conclusions: Estradiol was transferred to male partners by means of vigorous skin-to-skin contact at application sites. Although the increase in postexposure levels of estradiol was statistically significant, all levels were still below the upper limit of the normal range for men (45 pg/ml).

Objective: The Utian Quality of Life Scale (UQOL) is a new questionnaire used to quantify patient perception of quality of life in postmenopausal women. The current study is the first to use the UQOL in ascertaining treatment effects on quality of life in postmenopausal women., Design: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of healthy postmenopausal women. Participants were randomized to raloxifene 60 mg/day or placebo. Participants completed the UQOL at baseline, at 3 months, and at the 6-month study endpoint., Results: A total of 74 women (mean age, 55.6 years) were randomized. In the overall population, there were no significant changes from baseline to 6 months within or between treatment groups in any of the domains or total score, although raloxifene was associated with positive changes from baseline in the occupational (P = 0.093) and health (P = 0.055) domains. In women who completed the study, raloxifene was associated with a significant improvement from baseline in the occupational (P = 0.041) and health (P = 0.025) domains and in the total score (P = 0.044), whereas placebo had no effect. There were no statistically significant differences between raloxifene and placebo in any of the domains or total score., Conclusion: Although there were no treatment group differences, raloxifene was associated with an improvement from baseline in the occupational and health domains and in the overall score of the UQOL. Larger studies are needed using the UQOL as a primary endpoint to determine whether the positive effects of raloxifene on quality of life observed in this trial are real or a chance finding.