Histological changes induced by tibolone and estrogen/glucocorticoid on aging skin

Objective-The aim of this study was to investigate the oral effects of tibo lone and mestranol plus paramethasone on the skin of postmenopausal women. A second purpose was to determine endometrial thickness with transvaginal u ltrasound. Materials and Methods-This randomized study was carried out in 3 9 healthy postmenopausal women. Skin biopsies were obtained from the thigh area by a single punch, before and after treatment, and the sections were e valuated. Current characteristics of both groups were measured at follow-up . Results-No gross differences were observed in size, distribution or imagi ng of collagen, elastic or reticular fibers. Statistically significant chan ges were found in the papillar dermis thickness. There were no statisticall y significant differences in the sonographic measurements. Conclusion-The e strogen/glucocorticoid combination provides a way to evaluate in parallel t he cellular metabolism effects on the irreversible aging process. The curre nt results encourage widening these observations of the possible advantage of this combination, in order to alleviate the cellular degenerative proces s.