The article came from the Daily Herald in the Health and Fitness section. The article is about hormones supplements taken by women as they reach menopause and the studies underway to determine the effects of these hormone supplements. As women age, their ovaries stop making estrogen, which is the hormone which regulates the menstrual cycle and prepares the female body for pregnancy. The effects of the decrease in hormones include night sweats, irritability, depression and memory loss. Also, cholesterol levels and bone density have been found to decrease. In an attempt to alleviate the effects of this loss of estrogen, synthetic hormones are available by prescription. These synthetic hormones were approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 50 years ago and these prescriptions are some of the most widely used. However, studies which began in 1991 are now underway by the Women's Health Initiative to determine whether or not hormone replace therapy is good. Questions have been raised as to the detrimental effects of the synthetic hormones upon a woman's body. Studies are showing that synthetic hormones can be linked to breast cancer and are of little help in controlling heart attacks. The majority of women taking part in these studies are between the ages of 50 and 79 and involve some 28,000 women nationwide. These clinical studies began in 1993 with half of the women taking placebos and half of the women receiving actual synthetic hormones. Full results of the studies are expected in 2005. However, it is hard to impress upon the hundreds of thousands of women now taking hormone replacements to stop. Most feel that the short-tem effects, such as the elimination of hot flashes, far outweighs the possibility of long term effects. There are alternatives to synthetic hormone replace such as soy. Less dramatic symptoms in menopausal women have been noted in countries where soy is a major part of the diet.
