Effects of raloxifene and hormone replacement therapy on forearm skin elasticity in postmenopausal women

Sumino, H.; Ichikawa, S.; Kasama, S.; Takahashi, T.; Kumakura, H.; Takayama, Y.; Kanda, T.; Murakami, M.; Kurabayashi, M.

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2008.10.005

« Previous Next »Maturitas
Volume 62, Issue 1 , Pages 53-57, 20 January 2009

Effects of raloxifene and hormone replacement therapy on forearm skin elasticity in postmenopausal women

H. Sumino
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, 501 Nakaorui-machi, Takasaki, Gunma 370-0033, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 27 352 1291; fax: +81 27 352 1985.
S. Ichikawa
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Hospital of Central Japan, 740 Shimohakoda, Hokkitsu-machi, Shibukawa, Gunma 377-0061, Japan
S. Kasama
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Hospital of Central Japan, 740 Shimohakoda, Hokkitsu-machi, Shibukawa, Gunma 377-0061, Japan
T. Takahashi
- Division of Internal Medicine, Tama-Hokubu Medical Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Medical Treatment Corporation, 1-7-1 Aoba-cho, Higashi-murayama, Tokyo 189-8511, Japan
H. Kumakura
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Hospital of Central Japan, 740 Shimohakoda, Hokkitsu-machi, Shibukawa, Gunma 377-0061, Japan
Y. Takayama
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Hospital of Central Japan, 740 Shimohakoda, Hokkitsu-machi, Shibukawa, Gunma 377-0061, Japan
T. Kanda
- Department of General Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada-machi, Ishikawa 920-0293, Japan
M. Murakami
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-15 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan
M. Kurabayashi
- Department of Medicine and Biological Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan

Received 15 May 2008; received in revised form 26 September 2008; accepted 9 October 2008. published online 17 November 2008.

Abstract

Objectives

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases skin elasticity in postmenopausal women. However, the effects of raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), on skin degenerative changes in postmenopausal women remain unknown. We investigated whether raloxifene increases skin elasticity, similar to HRT, in postmenopausal women.

Methods

In a 12-month trial, 17 postmenopausal women (mean age, 66.4±7.8 years) received continuous raloxifene treatment (60mg/day), 19 women (56.2±6.4 years) received continuous 17-β estradiol treatment using a patch (0.72mg/2 days) plus cyclic medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5mg/day, for 12 days/month), and 11 women (58.1±7.3 years) did not receive either therapy. In each subject, the skin elasticity of the forearm was measured using a suction device at baseline and at 12 months after the start of the study.

Results

Raloxifene and HRT significantly increased skin elasticity from 52.4±3.8% and 64.1±7.2% at baseline to 55.1±4.7% and 67.4±7.4% after 12 months, respectively (P<0.05, each), but the untreated subjects did not exhibit any significant change in skin elasticity during the study. The delta value for skin elasticity was significantly higher among the raloxifene and HRT subjects than among the untreated subjects (P<0.05, each).

Conclusions

These findings suggest that raloxifene may have a beneficial effect on skin elasticity, which undergoes degenerative changes in postmenopausal women, in addition to its effects on bone metabolism.

Keywords: Raloxifene, Hormone replacement therapy, Skin elasticity, Postmenopausal women