San Diego Hormone Replacement Therapy Doctors Examine HRT for Arthritis Relief

SAN DIEGO, CA, April 27, 2013 (Press-News.org) A new research study indicates that some women receiving estrogen treatment after menopause have noticed an improvement in their arthritis symptoms, and a second published study suggests that hormone replacement therapy may help limit the cartilage loss associated with arthritis in the first place. Dr. John T. Alexander II, founder of ENERGENEX (http://www.energenex.com) in San Diego, says that there may be a wide range of conditions that could be helped through bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

"Hormone imbalance is so subtle, yet impacts so many aspects of our physical health without our realizing it," explains Dr. Alexander, whose San Diego practice focuses on bioidentical hormone therapy as well as nutritional guidance and lifestyle changes to promote optimal health. "It doesn't surprise me that joint health could be one of those aspects as well."

Researchers from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute looked at numbers from the Women's Health Initiative, a large ongoing study focusing on health issues in postmenopausal women. Of the more than 160,000 women participating in WHI, almost 11,000 reported taking estrogen therapy. The women who were receiving estrogen-only therapy reported that they experienced significantly lower occurrences of joint pain when compared to women who were receiving a placebo.

In a second study, researchers at the Alfred Hospital in Victoria looked at data from 81 women, all of whom were over age 50 and had already gone through menopause. Of these women, 42 had been taking hormone replacement therapy for five years or more, while the rest had never used HRT. Scan results were used to measure cartilage levels in the knee joints of the participants; results indicated that the women currently undergoing HRT had 7.7 percent more cartilage than the women who had not undergone HRT treatments.

"We already know BHRT can improve bone density and prevent osteoporosis," says Dr. Alexander, who also treats men suffering from Low T in San Diego. "Now it seems that joints and cartilage could also benefit as well."

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, a degenerative joint disease caused by cartilage loss and degradation. Cartilage is the hard, slippery tissue that cushions the bones where they meet together and form joints. This cushion allows for the bones to glide easily over one another during movement, and also serves as a shock absorber.

When cartilage degradation occurs, the joint surface may become rough instead of slippery, and cartilage may be lost entirely in some areas. This creates friction during joint movement, as well as leaving bone to rub directly against bone.

"We are constantly reviewing the medical literature to determine where HRT can be most effective," adds Dr. Alexander. "Increasingly, we're seeing new ways that hormone replacement therapy can lead to improved quality of life."

Helping patients increase their quality of life, ENERGENEX (http://www.energenex.com) specializes in breakthrough treatments of hormone irregularities. In particular, the clinic treats human growth hormone (HGH) and Low T at its San Diego office. Established in 1998 by Dr. John T. Alexander II, it was one of California's first anti-aging clinics. In 1999, Dr. Alexander became a Diplomate of the newly formed Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine.