Hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women.

From the endocrine point of view, menopause is considered a deficiency state and menopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) regarded as restoring the premenopausal endocrine milieu. Millions of healthy postmenopausal women were taking HRT in late 1990's many in the absence of menopausal symptoms. The major benefit from HRT was considered to be cardiovascular protection and also protection against osteoporosis and Alzheimer's Disease. The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial and other studies published since 2002 fundamentally changed our understanding of risks and benefits associated with HRT. This review discusses the effects of HRT on menopausal symptoms, cognitive function, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and also breast and bowel cancer.