Study: Hormone Replacement Therapy Questioned as Osteoarthritis Treatment

Researchers are questioning the value of using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a first-line treatment against the progression of osteoarthritis, according to a study in the February issue of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.

Osteoarthritis is one of the chronic conditions for which HRT has been suggested to provide beneficial outcomes. But, according to researchers, no randomized, prospective and controlled trials have specifically assessed the impact of HRT on the symptoms or progression of osteoarthritis.

Based on the recent results of the Women Health Initiative suggesting that HRT health risks may outweigh its benefits, researchers concluded that it is impossible to recommend HRT as a first-line treatment against progression of osteoarthritis.

Study author Dr. Jean-Yves Reginster told Medical Week that HRT should be limited to the short-term treatment of menopausal symptoms and should no longer be used for the management of chronic disorders like osteoporosis or osteoarthritis.

Reginster, a researcher from the bone and joint cartilage metabolism unit at the University of Liege in Belgium, said other medications like glucosamine sulphate have demonstrated a symptomatic and structure-modifying effect in osteoarthritis.

Other sources: Osteoarthritis and Cartilage (Vol. 11, Issue 2, 87-91)