Researchers are now studying HRT to determine the best regime for therapy to maximize beneficial effects and minimize dangerous health side effects. The uncomfortable conditions of menopause (hot flashes etc.) generally decrease in the years post menopause making HRT no longer necessary for many women. But many physicians have been hesitant to stop therapy because of the beneficial effect of HRT on the bones especially in women with a predisposition or family history of osteoporosis.

A 2002 study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine indicates that stopping hormone replacement therapy does not appear to accelerate loss of bone in postmenopausal women. The study also showed that while bone mass increased substantially in the first 36 months after starting hormone replacement therapy, there was little gain in bone mass after that. Among women who remain on hormone replacement therapy for up to five more years it appears that bone mass remains stable at the same level as the three year mark. The study let researchers examine the consequences of remain on estrogen or stopping after three years.

This study has important implications for physicians who are caring for women who may be at higher risk of health problems from taking HRT. The researchers involved in the study feel it may allow doctors to consider other strategies such as prescribing hormone replacement therapy for a period of time, then stopping it, then resuming again in a few years.

Bone loss following menopause is a natural process of aging. Osteoporosis causes about 1.5 million fractures per year. Those fractures lead to about 37,500 deaths each year, with another 60,000 people going to a nursing home due to such fractures, according to the Missouri Osteoporosis Foundation. It is estimated that one in 5 seniors who sustain an osteoporosis related fracture will die within one year. The cost of treating osteoporosis-related injuries is estimated to be more than $10 billion a year. While diet and exercise are important in preventing bone loss drug therapy remains the single most effective treatment.