DAK, Here's a recent report, in the anti-estrogen area (Raloxifene is LLY's Evista):
.c The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) - A new drug could give aging women all the benefits of
estrogen replacement, such as stronger bones, but have fewer side effects,
according to a study released Thursday.
The study suggests the drug, an ``anti-estrogen'' called raloxifene, helps
increase bone mass and reduce blood cholesterol levels like estrogen, said
Dr. Edward Lufkin, the study's lead author.
``But unlike estrogen, it avoids certain side effects, such as stimulation of
the uterus and breasts - uterine bleeding was avoided and it did not cause
any breast soreness,'' he said.
The study did not answer the question of what effect the drug might have on
breast cancer. There have been studies but no proof that estrogen treatment
causes breast cancer, although many women fear that it does.
The goverment is now recruiting volunteers for the largest-study of estrogen
and other hormones.
Lufkin of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, presented his findings at the
annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Estrogen is a natural reproductive hormone that helps keep women's hearts and
bones strong. After menopause, when the body produces less estrogen, women
sometimes take supplements both to fight menopausal hot flashes and, longer
term, to prevent heart disease and bone-thinning osteoporosis.
But only about 20 percent of post-menopausal women who could benefit from
estrogen's heart and bone benefits take supplements. Experts say many do not
take it because of the fear of breast cancer.
At least three companies - Eli Lilly & Co., Pfizer Inc. and SmithKline
Beecham - are racing to be the first to sell anti-estrogens.
The one-year study was paid for by Lilly and was done on a group of 143
women, with a median age of 68, all of whom had post-menopausal osteoporosis
and had already suffered a bone fracture.
Two-thirds of the women received varying doses of the drug, while one-third
received a placebo.
The study found that the women taking the drug showed an increase in bone
density but that the drug had no ill effects on breast or uterine tissue.
Dr. Steven Cummings of the University of California at San Francisco, who has
done clinical tests of raloxifene, said that the study shows promise but that
more trials are needed because the Mayo study included only 143 women.
``This is too small a study,'' he said. ``It's not a very impressive number.
You need a much larger population - thousands.''
Although the effects of raloxifene have been tested on 12,000 post-menopausal
women worldwide, this was the first study to look at women who already had
bone fractures from osteoporosis, Lufkin said.
At least 10 million American women now have osteoporosis, said Dr. Greg Mundy
of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and president
of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
``That number is going to increase dramatically in the next 50 years as the
population ages,'' he said. ``You're looking at 100 to 200 million people
worldwide in the next 50 years.''
AP-NY-09-11-97 1904EDT |
