The summer of 2002 was a tense time for us. One announcement and all of our knowledge and experience as basic researchers was put to question.
On July 10th, Jacques Rossouw, the director of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial, which tracked the long term effects of hormone therapy (HT) on women, announced the trial was being halted three years ahead of schedule. The results showed an unacceptable proportion of women were harmed by the therapy. The data implied that HT did not protect women against heart disease or protect against memory loss and other neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia, and in fact increased their risk of stroke and breast cancer. At the time, some 14 million US women were taking HT to relieve postmenopausal symptoms or to lower their risk for osteoporosis. In the days and weeks that followed, women around the world would call ...
