US regulators removed a health warning from hormone replacement therapies for menopause, two decades after saying the drugs could cause cancer and cardiovascular problems in women.
Menopause is driven by falling sex hormone levels. HRT restores them to normal levels, and alleviates symptoms such as hot flashes, as well as reducing the risk of age-related problems such as osteoporosis, muscle loss, and — potentially — dementia.
Some research found links to breast cancer and other conditions, leading to the 2003 addition of a “black box” warning, and HRT’s uptake collapsed. But that research has been criticized, and doctors said the risks were overstated.
There is “a growing appreciation that women are undertreated [and] suffer in silence,” one gynecologist told Scientific American.