Lipid and lipoprotein responses to oral combined hormone replacement therapy in normolipemic obese women with controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus

This study investigated the effects of oral combined hormone replacement th erapy (OCHRT) on lipid concentrations and subpopulation distribution of lip oproteins in nine postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus and mo derate glycemic control. After 16 weeks of continuous daily therapy of conj ugated estrogens 0.625 mg and medroxyprogesterone 2.5 mg, the mean concentr ation of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol showed a statistically significant increase of 16.7%, predominantly in the HDL, subfraction. No st atistically significant changes in mean concentrations of total cholesterol , low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, very low-densit y lipoprotein (VLDL) triglycerides, apolipoprotein Al, or apolipoprotein B were evident. Likewise, no changes were found in the average diameter of VL DL, LDL, or HDL particles; triglyceride concentrations of VLDL subfractions ; cholesterol concentrations of LDL subfractions; or chemical composition o f plasma LDL. These findings lend further support to the use of OCHRT in po stmenopausal women with diabetes to decrease their risk for coronary artery disease. (C) 1998 The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.