EFFECTS OF ESTROGEN REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON RATES OF CYCLIC ALTERNATING PATTERNS AND HOT-FLUSH EVENTS DURING SLEEP IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN -A PILOT-STUDY
Mb. Scharf et al., EFFECTS OF ESTROGEN REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON RATES OF CYCLIC ALTERNATING PATTERNS AND HOT-FLUSH EVENTS DURING SLEEP IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN -A PILOT-STUDY, Clinical therapeutics, 19(2), 1997, pp. 304-311
The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of conju
gated estrogens on the rates of cyclic alternating patterns of sleep (
CAPS) and nocturnal hot flushes in symptomatic postmenopausal women. S
even postmenopausal or post-hysterectomy women aged 45 to 60 years wit
h nocturnal diaphoresis and/or hot flushes participated in this study.
The study was conducted with a single-masked design using a matching
placebo. The placebo baseline was followed by a 4-week, single-masked
treatment of conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg taken 4 hours before bedtim
e. Each patient's sleep was monitored in the laboratory for 3 consecut
ive nights during placebo baseline and again for 3 consecutive nights
after an at-home period of at least 24 days of estrogen replacement th
erapy. Estrogen therapy resulted in a statistically significant decrea
se in the overall number of hot flushes and the number of hot flushes
associated with awakenings, as well as improvement in sleep efficiency
and a reduction in the rate of CAPS. These data confirm earlier well-
established reports that estrogens reduce the frequency of hot flushes
and suggest that the frequency of nocturnal arousals decreases and sl
eep quality improves in conjunction with a reduction in the rate of CA
PS.