South African supermodel Candice Swanepoel

 

The South African supermodel Candice Swanepoel demonstrated on the cover page of men’s magazine GQ South Africa for the month of May 2010. The angel in “Victoria’s Secret” shines in all its glory in the pages of the popular publication, Candice poses with a diverse range of lingerie sets, as well as occasional party element such as masks or league.

The researchers said the reason for the risk difference between oral therapy and the patch might be due to the way estrogen is absorbed into the blood stream. When taken orally, estrogen enters through the digestive system and is processed by the liver. This process might impair the balance between clotting and anti-clotting factors in the blood. The authors added that since most of the data came from existing observational trials, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Other experts, such as Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, agree. "It's observational and very interesting, but clearly more studies need to be done. Maybe this opens the door for a way to give hormones more safely to those who need it," she said.

Dr. John Stevenson, chairman of Women's Health Concern, which provides advice to women on menopause, said the increased risk of VTE for HRT users is well recognized. "It is linked to the estrogen and is dose-dependent, so the risk can be reduced by using lower doses or non-oral therapy such as patches."

Still others see the study as flawed. The International Menopause Society (IMS) released a statement just days before the French study was published in the online issue of the British Medical Journal stating that for women in their 50's, HRT was safe and effective and did not raise the risk of heart disease. The panel also concluded that HRT had a ‘minimal' impact on the risk of breast cancer. "The IMS expert group concluded that the only remaining risk of HRT in the age group 50-59 years was that of a thromboembolic event-a blood clot," said Dr. David Sturdee, British gynecologist and president of the IMS. "This very slightly increased risk of a blood clot should not discourage healthy women from using HRT if it is needed."