Characteristics of novel pharmaceutical preparations for hormone replacement therapy in menopause

Abstract

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a well-established treatment for the relief of menopausal symptoms. Estrogens constitute the basis of HRT, and there are a number of different estrogens used. Estrogen can be administered orally in tablet form; locally in the vagina such as intravaginal creams and ring systems; percutaneously using a gel and emulsion; or transdermally using transdermal patches, and intranasal via intranasal spray. Selection of HRT should be based upon symptom type and severity, lowest effective dose, shortest duration of treatment, and patient preference. In this paper, characteristics of novel estrogen delivery systems were presented.