ERT meaning in Medical ?

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal atrophy, accelerated skin aging, vaginal dryness, decreased muscle mass, sexual dysfunction, and bone loss. They are in large part related to the diminished levels of sex hormones that occur during menopause.

The main hormonal medications used in HRT for menopausal symptoms are estrogens and progestogens, among which progesterone is the major naturally-occurring female sex hormone and also a manufactured medication used in menopausal hormone therapy. Though both can have symptomatic benefits, progestogen is specifically added to estrogen regimens when the uterus is still present. Unopposed estrogen therapy promotes endometrial thickening and can increase the risk of cancer, while progestogen reduces this risk. Androgens like testosterone are sometimes used as well. HRT is available through a variety of different routes.

The long-term effects of HRT on most organ systems vary by age and time since the last physiological exposure to hormones, and there can be large differences in individual regimens, factors which have made analyzing effects difficult. The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) is an ongoing study of over 27,000 women that began in 1991, with the most recent analyses suggesting that, when initiated within 10 years of menopause, HRT reduces all-cause mortality and risks of coronary disease, osteoporosis, and dementia; after 10 years the beneficial effects on mortality and coronary heart disease are no longer apparent, though there are decreased risks of hip and vertebral fractures and an increased risk of venous thromboembolism when taken orally.

"Bioidentical" hormone replacement is a development in the 21st century and uses manufactured compounds with "exactly the same chemical and molecular structure as hormones that are produced in the human body." These are mainly steroids derived from plants and can be a component of either registered pharmaceutical or custom-made compounded preparations, with the latter generally not recommended by regulatory bodies due to their lack of standardization and formal oversight. Bioidentical hormone replacement has inadequate clinical research to determine its safety and efficacy as of 2017.

The current indications for use from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include short-term treatment of menopausal symptoms, such as vasomotor hot flashes or vaginal atrophy, and prevention of osteoporosis.