Trial reportArthritis research & therapy2003
Hormone replacement therapy in rheumatoid arthritis is associated with lower serum levels of soluble IL-6 receptor and higher insulin-like growth factor 1.
Trial report in Arthritis research & therapy, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hormone replacement therapy, calcium and vitamin D3 versus calcium and vitamin D3 alone decreases markers of cartilage and bone metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN46523456].Arthritis research & therapy · 2004Trial
- Multiomics Integration Reveals Yu-Xue-Bi Tablets Attenuate Rheumatoid Arthritis via Metabolic Reprogramming-Mediated Piezo1 Suppression.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy: Clinical Decisions in Times of Uncertainty.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Aromatase Inhibitor-Induced Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Immunohistochemical Analysis and Clinical Evaluation: An Observational, Cross-Sectional, Case-Control Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Hallmarks of Cancer Cachexia: Sexual Dimorphism in Related Pathways.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Advances of autoimmune rheumatic diseases related to malignant tumors.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2023Review
- Skeletal muscle wasting: the estrogen side of sexual dimorphism.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2022Review
- Evaluating the Use of Hydroxychloroquine in Treating Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.Cureus · 2021Review
- Aromatase Inhibitors-Induced Musculoskeletal Disorders: Current Knowledge on Clinical and Molecular Aspects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Estrogen induces St6gal1 expression and increases IgG sialylation in mice and patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a potential explanation for the increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis in postmenopausal women.Arthritis research & therapy · 2018Article
- Factors associated with sexual dysfunction in Taiwanese females with rheumatoid arthritis.BMC women's health · 2017Article
- The effect of relaxin on the musculoskeletal system.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2014Review
- Oestrogen deficiency modulates particle-induced osteolysis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2011Article
- Estrogen and autoimmune disease.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2011Review
- Interleukin-6 in aging and chronic disease: a magnificent pathway.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2006Review
- Sex hormone modulation of cell growth and apoptosis of the human monocytic/macrophage cell line.Arthritis research & therapy · 2005Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) modulates the imbalance in bone remodeling, thereby decreasing bone loss. Sex hormones are known to influence rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of HRT on the serum levels of hormones and cytokines regulating bone turnover in 88 postmenopausal women with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) randomly allocated to receive HRT plus calcium and vitamin D3 or calcium and vitamin D3 alone for 2 years. An increase in estradiol (E2) correlated strongly with improvement of bone mineral density in the hip (P < 0.001) and lumbar spine (P < 0.001). Both baseline levels and changes during the study of IL-6 and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were correlated positively (P < 0.001). HRT for 2 years resulted in an increase of the bone anabolic factor, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) (P < 0.05) and a decrease of serum levels of soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) (P < 0.05), which is known to enhance the biological activity of IL-6, an osteoclast-stimulating and proinflammatory cytokine. Baseline levels of IL-6 and IGF-1 were inversely associated (P < 0.05), and elevation of IGF-1 was connected with decrease in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < 0.05) after 2 years. Interestingly, increase in serum levels of E2 was associated with reduction of sIL-6R (P < 0.05) and reduction of sIL-6R was correlated with improved bone mineral density in the lumbar spine (P < 0.05). The latter association was however not significant after adjusting for the effect of E2 (P = 0.075). The influences of IGF-1 and the IL-6/sIL-6R pathways suggest possible mechanisms whereby HRT may exert beneficial effects in RA. However, to confirm this hypothesis future and larger studies are needed.
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