Cardiometabolic outcomes in Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study continuation: 14-year follow-up of a hormone therapy trial.

Objective: This study aimed to determine long-term cardiometabolic effects of hormone therapies initiated within 3 years of onset of menopause after a 14-year follow-up study of participants of the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS).

Methods: KEEPS was a multisite clinical trial that recruited recently menopausal women with good cardiovascular health for randomization to oral conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin, 0.45 mg/d) or transdermal 17β-estradiol (Climara, 50 μg/d) both with micronized progesterone (Prometrium, 200 mg/d) for 12 d/mo, or placebo pills and patch for 4 years.

Pilot study of sex differences in chemokine/cytokine markers of atherosclerosis in humans.

Background: Atherogenic processes increase in women after menopause, when the risk of cardiovascular adverse events approaches that observed in age-matched men. In experimental animals, ovariectomy increases the platelet content of mitogenic cytokines, such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), which when released into the blood or site of vascular injury, contribute to atherogenic processes.

Objective: Experiments were designed to assess the sex distribution of inflammatorychemokines/cytokines, which may be released from platelets in the serum of middle-aged women and men in whom the extent of atherosclerotic coronary disease was defined by coronary arterial calcification (CAC).