Ir. Ranganath et al., EFFECTS OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON PLATELET MEMBRANE FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION, Journal of Endocrinology, 148(2), 1996, pp. 207-212
Oestrogen replacement therapy has been shown to protect postmenopausal
women from ischaemic heart disease, strokes and hypertension. The mec
hanism of protection conferred by oestrogen, although partly attributa
ble to changes in serum lipoproteins, is not fully understood. The pre
sent study was undertaken to assess the effect of hormone replacement
therapy on the composition of platelet membrane fatty acids in postmen
opausal women. These were analysed by gas-liquid chromatography before
and six weeks after continuous conjugated equine oestrogen therapy (0
.625 mg daily) combined with cyclical therapy with 75 mu g L-norgestre
l from day 17 to 28 of a 28-day cycle. Each subject acted as her own c
ontrol. The principal findings of the study were that, following treat
ment, there was a 16.2% reduction in platelet membrane polyunsaturated
fatty acids (P < 0.001), an increase of 9.1 and 7.1% in saturated fat
ty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids respectively (P < 0.001) and
a 17.8% reduction in arachidonic acid (P < 0.003). There was no correl
ation between changes in membrane fatty acids and serum lipoproteins.
This suggests that the changes in membrane composition noted in this s
tudy may be a primary effect of hormone replacement therapy, especiall
y oestrogen.