Female Hormones and the Postmenopausal Endometrium

To the Editor: Whitehead et al. (December 31 issue) showed that the stimulatory effects of unopposed estrogen on the postmenopausal endometrium could be protected against by a six to 10-day course of either norethindrone acetate or D/L-norgestrel. 1 In an earlier article by Hirvonen et al. data were presented that pointed to the adverse effects of these same two derivatives of 19-nortestosterone on lipid metabolism. 2 Both progestogens caused a reduction in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and an increase in low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (although at dosages higher than the minimal level that was demonstrated to be effective by Whitehead et al.), thus increasing the . . . No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.