Hormone therapy for women with venous thrombosisHormone therapy has emerged as a risk factor in women with venous thrombosis. Venous thrombosis is a blood clot that is formed deep inside the vein. Though this ailment is found to be rare, it can get increased on an exponential basis during the time of menopause and may prove to be fatal.

This study on venous thrombosis was undertaken by a team of Mayo Clinic researchers, led by Virginia Miller. The involved team members developed a concept that was concerned with blood platelets to define the risk of thrombosis. It is worthwhile to note here that this research was discussed in detail by Miller at a conference sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS).

From News-Medical.Net:

The study focuses on platelets, which are cellular fragments in the blood. Platelets have a phenotype (i.e., a set of physical characteristics) that change and it is known that hormones affect platelet change. The team is examining what happens to platelets in the presence of hormones , whether platelet microvesicles occur more frequently as a result, if a change is triggered by infection, and what may account for thrombotic risk in one woman over another.

The study design takes into account the researchers, belief that three forces , an injury, a platelet effect at the injury, and the inflammation that affects the platelet and the vessel wall , are involved in the development of thrombotic risk.

The study builds on the team’s earlier findings in an animal model. They are applying the earlier results to a human population for the first time using blood taken from the women enrolled in the KEEPS trial. Depending upon the results from this group, a larger trial of 720 samples will be examined.

Depending on the results of this study, the researchers may examine the relationship of platelet activity, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk (CV) in men. It is well known that men have a higher risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than do females, and arterial clots, rather than venous clots, are a greater concern in the presence of CVD. Since men carry the female hormone estrogen as well as the male hormone testosterone, some of the findings from the female KEEPS study may shed light on these mechanisms involving men.

Miller was of the view that this kind of a medical research can open the doors of finding an effective treatment for this ailment and for defining the risk profiles for a specific health issue. It was also said that such a defining treatment can bring a hope that the tools facilitating hormonal therapy for female patients in commensuration with a risk for venous thrombosis can be effective to offer relief.

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