Effects of raloxifene on body fat distribution and lipid profile in healthy post-menopausal women

The aim of our prospective, randomised, controlled and open-label clinical study was to evaluate in healthy post-menopausal women the effects of raloxifene (RLX) on body fat distribution and lipids, and the correlations between these parameters. The fat distribution, by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and lipids were evaluated at baseline and after 1 yr in 50 postmenopausal women: 25 were treated with RLX 60 mg/die, while 25 served as control group (CG). After 1 yr, we observed in RLX-users a slight reduction of fat mass in trunk and central region and an increase in legs and, in relation to CG, significantly lower values of adiposity in trunk and abdominal region (p<0.05). At the same time, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) were significantly increased in relation to baseline values and CG (p<0.05) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB), total cholesterol/HDL-C, LDL cholesterol/HDL-C, and ApoB/ApoA1 ratios significantly decreased compared to baseline values and CG (p<0.05). No correlation was underlined among lipids and regional fat distribution. These results highlight the positive effect of RLX on lipids and suggest, for the first time, that RLX promotes the shift from android to gynoid fat distribution, and prevents the uptrend of abdominal adiposity and body weight compared with untreated women.