Estrogen and Vitamin D Builds Bone in Elderly Women

For More Information Contact: Lori Elliott-Bartle, (402) 280-2607, [email protected]

CREIGHTON RESEARCHER EXAMINES USE OF ESTROGEN AND VITAMIN D IN ELDERLY WOMEN

For Immediate Release, Aug. 31, 2001

OMAHA, Neb. -- Estrogen plus a progestin increased bone density in the spine by five percent and in the hip by 3.9 percent in elderly women, says a study led by Creighton University researcher J. Chris Gallagher, M.D., professor of medicine and head of the Women's Health Center.

"The addition of an active form of vitamin D (calcitrol) to estrogen further increased bone density in the spine by seven percent and in the hip by 5.3 percent," he said.

About 500 elderly women enrolled in the three-year study, which was supported by the National Institute on Aging.

Additionally, the researchers found that the use of vitamin D significantly reduced the number of falls that elderly women suffered over three years by about 30 percent and also tended to reduce the chance of fractures.

The results of the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, show that such combination therapy can increase the number of women who respond to therapy and increase the gain in bone density.

Combination therapy may offer benefits that aren't achieved with single-medication therapy, Gallagher said. "Combination therapy is best used in women who lose bone on a single drug, or who present with multiple fractures."

Creighton University is an independent, Catholic, comprehensive university operated by the Jesuits, who have a 500 year tradition of excellence in education. Creighton has been ranked No. 1 for the past five years among Midwestern universities in the U.S. News & World Report magazine's "America's Best Colleges" edition.

-30-