Hormone Replacement Therapy can Improve Muscle Function in Women

In women, hormone replacement therapy was found to improve muscle function and fibre, shows study.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) significantly improves muscle function -- down to the muscle fibre level -- in post-menopausal women, said a new study published Wednesday in The Journal of Physiology.

Some studies published over the last decade have led to negative publicity around HRT, a treatment used to relieve symptoms of menopause, resulting in many women being reluctant to use it.

This new study, however, offers a positive outcome from the treatment, reports Science Daily.

Doctor Lars Larsson, from Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden, who led the study, said: "We found that even though individual muscle fibre did not change in size, the muscles of HRT users showed greater strength by generating a higher maximum force compared to non-HRT users."

"It is thought that using HRT, at least in part, reduces modifications of muscle contractile proteins that are linked to ageing," said Larsson.

Source: IANS