new combo cuts blood pressure (available in Europe)

This isn't available in the US, but is marketed in Europe as Angeliq. So this is interesting in general and might help some European sisters--

A paper presented at the American Society of Hypertension's annual scientific meeting said that a study with 212 women (half on placebo) showed that using a combination of estradiol and synthetic hormone called drospirenone lowered blood pressure in women who already had high blood pressure. The researchers speculated that it might provide the symptom relief without the increased risk of blood clots. The study was funded by the maker--which would be standard for a drug that they want to put on the US market.

(((Trish))) very interesting! Drospirenone is the spironolactone analogue used as the progestin in Yasmin bcp's, which is supposed to help clear up acne. Reason: it's an anti-androgen. So, it sounds like they have created a product analogous to Yasmin only using bio-identical estradiol with the drospirenone.

My bet is that the estradiol is what lowers the blood pressure, and the drospirenone helps prevent clots (and gets rid of those pesky blemishes too! ).

I'd be concerned in postmenopausal women that it might cause decreased libido as a side effect due to the anti-androgenic action. Did they mention anything about side effects in the proceedings?

s,
-Linda

Very interesting discussion, Trish and Linda. Any bp posts
are near and dear to my heart. If you find any additional information on the study, Trish, I look forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing this with us.