Estraderm® (estradiol patch) is a prescription hormone replacement medication that contains an estrogen (without a progestin). It comes as a patch that is applied to the skin twice a week and is approved for the following uses:
- Treating menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats, or vaginal dryness
- Preventing osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
- Replacing hormones in younger women whose ovaries do not work properly (or who have had their ovaries removed).
Estraderm is made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
During and after
menopause, women experience a drop in estrogen levels, as well as a shift in the balance of estrogens that the body produces. Before menopause, the main source of estrogen is produced by the ovaries, and the main type of estrogen produced is known as estradiol. After menopause, the main source of estrogen is androstenedione, which is produced by the adrenal gland and is converted into an estrogen known as estrone. Menopausal symptoms and changes result from both the decrease in estrogen and the shift from estradiol to estrone.
By providing estradiol through the skin (instead of by mouth), Estraderm patches help decrease "first pass metabolism," when the liver metabolizes a drug before it reaches the bloodstream. Since the liver metabolizes estradiol into estrone (another estrogen, one that is predominant in postmenopausal women), taking estradiol by mouth results in high levels of estrone (and low levels of estradiol). With Estraderm, the estradiol reaches the bloodstream (and the rest of the body) before it is metabolized into estrone by the liver.
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