Effects of hormone therapy on ARM, glaucoma, investigated

Two European studies suggest post-menopausal women taking hormone therapy do not increase their risk of developing age-related maculopathy, and for women with glaucoma the therapy may have a positive effect on ocular vascularization.

In the study of age-related maculopathy (ARM), Yoram Abramov, MD, and colleagues at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem included 102 women between the ages of 60 and 80 who were on hormone therapy and 100 control patients to determine the presence and grade of ARM. The groups did not differ in terms of early, late or wet ARM prevalence rates. Those with ARM were significantly older (69 years) than the control group (66 years). Women with ARM were also more likely to have ischemic heart disease. Lifetime hormone exposure and other cardiovascular risk factors were not significantly different among women with ARM compared to controls.

In the glaucoma study, Cesare Battaglia, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Bologna, Italy, included eight postmenopausal women with glaucoma and 15 control patients. Both groups were given hormone therapy, and follow-up was 6 months. All women underwent color Doppler analysis of their ophthalmic arteries.

None of the women presented with irregular endometrial echoes, polyps or intracavitary fluid. Doppler parameters significantly improved during therapy. The ophthalmic artery mean improvements of pulsatility index, peak systolic blood flow velocity and time-averaged maximum velocity were significantly more evident in the control group than in the glaucoma group, the investigators said.

Both studies are published in the January issue of Menopause.