Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To test venous endothelial function during long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and after treatment withdrawal.
DESIGN
Measurement of dorsal hand-vein diameter by venous occlusion plethysmography during infusion of norepinephrine, bradykinin, NG-monomethyl L-arginine, and sodium nitroprusside.
SETTING
Plethysmography and menopause units, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain.
PATIENT(S)
Twenty postmenopausal women, of whom 10 were assigned to receive no hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for 6 months after plethysmography (group A) and 10 were assigned to receive HRT for 6 months (group B). After 6 months, HRT was administered to group A and withdrawn from group B for another 6 months.
INTERVENTION(S)
Plethysmography at baseline and at 6 and 12 months.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Dorsal hand-vein diameter measured by venous occlusion plethysmography during infusion of norepinephrine, bradykinin, NG-monomethyl L-arginine, or sodium nitroprusside.
RESULT(S)
At 6 months, the maximum dilation obtained with bradykinin was 48.8 +/- 7.58% in group A and 76.7 +/- 12.9% in group B. At 12 months, maximum bradykinin dilation increased to 74.3 +/- 14.2% in group A and decreased to 54.0 +/- 15.9% in group B.
CONCLUSION(S)
Long-term HRT with estrogen plus progestin improves endothelium-dependent vasodilation, but this effect is lost in a relatively short time. Endothelial function in dorsal hand veins is an easy-to-use plethysmography model that can be used in serial studies.
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