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Review
. 2019 Jul;7(3):416-421.
doi: 10.1016/j.sxmr.2019.03.006. Epub 2019 May 27.

The History of Estrogen Therapy

Grace E Kohn  1 , Katherine M Rodriguez  2 , James Hotaling  3 , Alexander W Pastuszak  4
Affiliations
Review

The History of Estrogen Therapy

Grace E Kohn et al. Sex Med Rev. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) has proven an effective treatment for the amelioration of symptoms of menopause. The idea that a substance was the missing factor in a woman's body after menopause dates to the 1800s, when cow ovarian tissue was injected into German women in a successful attempt to reverse the sexual symptoms of menopause. The early 1900s saw the rise of commercialized menopause "treatments" that ranged in substance and even theoretical efficacy. The role of estrogen was first accurately described in Guinea pigs in 1917 by Dr. Papanicolaou.

Aim: To tell the detailed history of how estrogen was discovered and the controversy surrounding MHT.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using PubMed to identify relevant studies and historical documents regarding the history of estrogen therapy.

Results: The history of estrogen supplementation and its controversies are interesting stories and relevant to today's ongoing investigation into hormone replacement.

Conclusion: The controversy of MHT remained until the first randomized trials examining MHT in the early 1990s that suggested MHT is cardioprotective in postmenopausal women, although this conclusion was contradicted in subsequent trials. In the present day, MHT is approved only for short-term use for the symptomatic treatment of menopause. Kohn GE, Rodriguez KM, Hotaling J, et al. The History of Estrogen Therapy. Sex Med Rev 2019;7:416-421.

Keywords: Breast Cancer; Estrogen; Hormone Replacement Therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement

Dr. Pastuszak

- Endo Pharmaceuticals – advisor, speaker, consultant

- Boston Scientific – advisor

- Bayer AG – speaker

Figures

Picture 1.
Picture 1.
Emmenin tablets.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Investigators, W.G.f.t.W.s.H.I., Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results from the Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. Jama, 2002. 288(3): p. 321–333. - PubMed
    1. O’dowd MJ and Philipp EE, The history of obstetrics and gynaecology. 2000: CRC press.
    1. Singh A, Kaur S, and Walia I, A historical perspective on menopause and menopausal age. Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine (Hyderabad), 2002. 32(2): p. 121–135. - PubMed
    1. Kopera H, The dawn of hormone replacement therapy. 1991, Elsevier. - PubMed
    1. Rooke T, The quest for cortisone. 2012: MSU Press.

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