MAINTAIN BONE HEALTH DURING MENOPAUSE

When a woman becomes menopausal, her ovaries cease to function and estrogen and progesterone levels become low to nonexistent. The lack of estrogen in her body will negatively affect a woman’s bone health when she is in menopause. Bone is a dynamic organ; it is constantly being laid down and taken away. Estrogen is important in bone health because it is a potent inhibitor of bone being taken away. Thus, a woman with low estrogen levels as in the case of Menopause, will have issues with bone health.

Dr. Steven R. Goldstein, a Menopause Specialist in NYC, is a former CoDirector of the Bone Density Laboratory at NYU and has lectured extensively and writes the update each year for a journal called OBG Management on Osteoporosis. He is a strong supporter of monitoring bone health in women as they become menopausal and post-menopausal.

Osteoporotic fractures are one of the most serious health concerns that women face as we progress through the 21st Century. Concerns about fracture as women get older are greater than ever before. Currently, there are 1,000,000 osteoporotic fractures in women in this country per year.

That is more than all of the heart attacks, strokes, breast cancers, and gynecologic cancers in women combined.

Twenty five percent of women who fracture their hip will be dead within 1 year. Twenty percent of women who fracture their hip will never live independently alone again. Make no mistake about it: reducing the risk of osteoporotic fractures in women at high risk is essential.

Why is this happening? One of the problems is that many physicians have started to treat patients’ “T-scores” from their bone density tests rather than truly assessing fracture risk. Thus, many women who are not at high enough risk for fracture (a term previously referred to as “osteopenia”) have in fact been started on many of these drugs.

What is the solution? A class of medications to prevent and treat osteoporosis are called “anti-resorptives”. They mimic the function of estrogen and inhibit the taking away of bone, yielding a net positive balance. There are other that are termed anabolic bone drugs, that actually build bone, however it does not inhibit some of its taking away. These drugs are reserved for the most severe cases.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is also another option of treatment for menopausal women as it increases estrogen levels which can help prevent osteoporosis. Dr Goldstein, a hormone specialist in NYC, and co author of the book “The Estrogen Alternative” prescribes hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help patients in his practice cope with menopause.

However, the main goal of treatment is to PREVENT fractures and breaks.

Dr Steven R. Goldstein MD is a Menopause Specialist in NYC and a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York University School of Medicine. Dr Goldstein is also a past President of the International Menopause Society, a Certified Menopause Practitioner and a Past President of the North American Society.

If you are a woman concerned with your bone health as you enter

menopause, or if you are post-menopausal, then perhaps a consultation with Dr Steven R. Goldstein, a HRT Specialist in NYC is in order.