KARACHI, March 25: Women medical experts participating in a seminar on "use and abuse of hormone replacement therapy in women" divided into two groups, favouring and opposing the therapy on health grounds.

However, at the end of the debate, most of the physicians were in favour of hormone therapy and urged family physicians not to deprive elderly women of benefits of Oestrogen.

Seminar was organized jointly by Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and Pakistan Menopause Society (PMS) at PMA House on Thursday. Prof. Majeed Memon and Dr. Aziz Khan Tank jointly chaired the session.

Expressing her point of view, Dr. Ayesha said that women should be respected from the stage of early development to menopause and if they needed treatment as a child, they should not be left alone after menopause. She said that old women should not be afraid of oestrogen as this hormone is with women since her birth and it cannot be dangerous for them.

Dr. Farah Khan was not in favour of bone-replacement therapy and said it is the pharma industry which is pushing this drug for their profit. Menopause state is a natural state and it should not be treated as a disease. Every drug has side-effects and HRT has also side-effects and may cause serious problems in women, she added.

Dr. Shaheen Zafar of Liaquat National Hospital said that there are millions of women who can benefit from HRT and doctors should continue prescribing HRT on individual basis.

Prof. Robina Hussain of Ziauddin Medical University favoured the bone-replacement. Dr. Nighat Shah of Murshid Hospital gave a detailed account of menopause in Pakistani women and said that Pakistanis have a mind-set that they should not treat woman with hormone even when she is suffering from the disease.

Dr. Farah Rasheed of Liaquat National Hospital said that there was a need for launching an awareness campaign in elderly women regarding menopause and its managements.

Prof. Majeed Memon and Dr. Aziz Khan Tank emphasized on a close coordination between gynaecologists and family physicians who take care of women, especially at menopause. At the end, the house voted for the use of HRT and advised doctors not to deprive women of this treatment. -PPI