Hormone therapy trial was flawed

Although this was initially reported in Decemberby the news media, it is story that is certainly worth of continuing interest and follow-up: A 2002 study showing that hormone replacement therapy raises the risk of heart disease and breast cancer -- scaring many women away from the drugs --was fundamentally flawed, according to new research.

"Women are now being told not to take hormones for heart disease prevention, and that may be totally wrong,” said Dr. Edward Klaiber, a Worcester, Massachusetts endocrinologist and lead author of the study. Klaiber is hopeful that a multi-center trial launched last year by the Phoenix-based Kronos Longevity Research Institute will eventually show that hormone replacement therapy is not risky in women who are just beginning to go through menopause.