Summary
Hormone replacement therapy may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease but underlying
mechanism has not been adequately explained. Recent data suggest that intercellular
adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) plays a critical role in early stage of atherosclerosis
and may serve as a molecular marker for the development of arterial disease. We investigated
the effects of oral and transdermal cyclic oestradiol combined with progesterone on
plasma concentration of soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1). Thirty-seven healthy postmenopausal
women were randomly assigned to receive either oral estradiol valerate or transdermal
estradiol both combined with micronized progesterone or no hormonal treatment. Plasma
sICAM-1 was assayed at baseline and after a 6-month period. Oral but not transdermal
estradiol regimen significantly decreased mean value of sICAM-1 compared with no treatment.
Differences in sICAM-1 levels between active treatments were significant. There were
no significant changes in mean values of fibrinogen between the three groups. Our
results show a favorable effect of oral estrogen plus progesterone on a soluble marker
of vascular inflammation and may provide plausible explanation for a cardioprotective
effect of hormone replacement therapy among healthy postmenopausal women.