Difference between Osphena and hormone replacement therapy

Osphena and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are not the same; HRT replaces estrogen systemically, while Osphena works like estrogen only in certain parts of the body. Watch as OB/GYN Jennifer Ashton, MD, explains the differences in these therapies.

Transcript

00:00

People will already be confused is osphena HRT or hormone replacement therapy. And the answer is no.

00:07

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00:14

Osphena would not be given to a woman who's experiencing hot flashes to replace her estrogen systemically or throughout her body.

00:22

And in reality, osphena can actually cause hot flashes in over 7% of women.

00:29

So it's not exactly HRT, but it works like estrogen in certain parts of the body.

00:36

It's a conversation that women will need to have with their health care provider because this type of drug is absolutely not for every woman.

00:43

For over 10 years, women and their gynecologists have been very wary of HRT or hormone replacement therapy

00:52

because of the conclusively shown increased risk of breast cancer deaths amongst women taking combination estrogen

01:01

and progestin therapy when they're peri or postmenopausal. That does not mean that HRT cannot be given safely

01:10

and effectively to a postmenopausal woman. I do it all the time in my practice,

01:16

but it's done after stratifying the individual risk for certain side effects with that particular woman.

01:23

So in a woman who's at very high risk for clotting events, heart disease, stroke, or breast cancer,

01:30

combination HRT would probably not be worth the benefits because of the high risks. But in a younger woman who's at lower risk for breast

01:39

cancer, heart disease, clotting events, a short dose for a limited period of time of combination HRT may be

01:47

something that would have a relatively low risk and a high benefit. So this is a conversation that is not a five-minute convo.

01:55

This is a long, involved discussion that a woman needs to have with her health care provider and determine what is best for her.

02:03

It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. [MUSIC PLAYING]