To the Listmembers,
An item of interest --
===================
Estrogen Slows
                   Parkinson's In Women


                   April 30, 1998

                   NEW YORK (Reuters) - Estrogen
                   supplements may slow illness in women
                   suffering from early-stage Parkinson's disease,
                   according to a new study.

                   "Taking estrogen did not stop or reverse the
                   disease," said study co-author Dr. Rachel
                   Saunders-Pullman, of Beth Israel Medical
                   Center and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical
                   Center in New York City. "However, women
                   who at some point had received hormone
                   replacement therapy demonstrated less
                   disease progression over time than those who
                   had not taken estrogen."

                   Parkinson's disease is a degenerative
                   neurological disorder characterized by tremor,
                   a loss of facial expression and gradual losses
                   in motor control. Experts estimate that the
                   disease affects about 1 in every 200
                   Americans. Treatments that enhance the
                   supply of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the
                   brain can slow or even reverse Parkinson's
                   symptoms.

                   Saunders-Pullman and her colleagues
                   followed the 2-year disease progression of
                   171 postmenopausal women who were
                   suffering from early-stage Parkinson's disease
                   and had not yet taken dopamine-enhancing
                   medication. Forty-two of the women had
                   taken hormone replacement therapies (HRT)
                   at some point in their lives, while the remaining
                   129 women had never taken estrogen
                   supplements.

                   The study authors found that women with a
                   history of HRT showed better functional
                   ability and slowed disease progression
                   compared with women without such histories.
                   "This was reflected in being better able to
                   function within daily living activities, such as
                   dressing and walking, as well as in formal
                   neurologic measurements for stiffness and
                   slowness of movements," Saunders- Pullman
                   explained.

                   These results mirrored those of another recent
                   study of 167 female Parkinson's patients
                   conducted by researchers at Columbia
                   University in New York, and published in the
                   April issue of the journal Neurology. Those
                   investigators concluded that HRT "did not
                   affect the risk of (Parkinson's disease) but
                   may have been associated with a lower risk of
                   dementia" in women suffering from the illness.

                   Saunders-Pullman believes further studies will
                   clarify the relationship between estrogen and
                   the neurological processes underlying
                   Parkinson's. And she says future research
                   efforts should focus on the effects of HRT on
                   patients with more advanced illness, and those
                   already enrolled on dopamine-enhancing
                   therapies. In the meantime, she and her
                   colleagues believe that HRT "should not be
                   avoided" as a method of treatment for women
                   in the early-stages of Parkinson's disease.

                   Saunders-Pullman presented the study findings
                   at the annual meeting of the American
                   Academy of Neurology, held this week in
                   Minneapolis, Minnesota.

                   Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights
                   reserved. Republication or redistribution of
                   Reuters content is expressly prohibited
                   without the prior written consent of
                   Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any
                   errors or delays in the content, or for any
                   actions taken in reliance thereon.
==========================

--
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD
"Nutrition you can live with!"
Medical nutrition therapy
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