ESTROGENS AND POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS

A model for the development of osteoporosis is presented and the tre atment of the condition with estrogens is discussed. It appears that an age-related reduction in circulating estrogens accompanies menopausal bone loss. However this loss is more directly attributable to the lack of parathyroid hormone (PTH) while estrogens play a role in the bony responsiveness to PTH. The positive effects of estrogen therapy in the course of this disease however have been shown to be transitory. Unfortunately no truly satisfactory studies of estrogen therapy for calcium deficiency have been conducted nor has the therapeutic value of estrogens in the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis been clearly established. If the model presented is valid it appears that estrogens may be of importance in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. However questions remain regarding dosage and which grou ps of patients should be treated.