Effect of hormone therapy and raloxifene on serum VE-cadherin in postmenopausal women

Objective: To investigate the effect of continuous combined hormone therapy and raloxifene on serum VE-cadherin. Design: The study was double blinded, with a placebo run-in period of 28-50 days. Setting: University menopause clinic. Patient(s): Twenty-eight healthy postmenopausal women devoid of climacteric complaints. Intervention(s): Subjects were randomized to 17beta-estradiol (2 mg) + norethisterone acetate (1 mg; E-2-NETA) or raloxifene hCL (60 mg) for a period of 6 months. Main Outcome Measure(s): Serum VE-cadherin, which was estimated at baseline and at month 6. Result(s): Serum VE-cadherin decreased significantly in both E-2-NETA and raloxifene groups (raloxifene baseline +/- SD: 1.17 +/- 0.44 ng/mL, 6 months: 0.82 +/- 0.29 ng/mL; E-2-NETA baseline: 1.19 +/- 0.47 ng/mL, 6 months: 0.92 +/- 0.49 ng/mL). Percentage changes from baseline were -21.7 +/- 24.3 for E-2-NETA and -26.0 +/- 20.6 for raloxifene. Conclusion(s): The effect of E-2-NETA and raloxifene suggests that these drugs may preserve interendothelial junction integrity and control vascular permeability. Although this effect may influence the progress of the atheromatous lesion, its clinical impact on coronary artery disease (CAD) remains uncertain. (C) 2004 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.