The use of tibolone for menopausal hormone therapy

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2025.328

Ilyina I.Yu., Dobrokhotova Yu.E.
1) Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia; 2) Yaroslavl State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, Yaroslavl, Russia

Relevance: Currently, women are living longer, which means a need for long-term use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). Improving quality of life is one of the main criteria for prescribing MHT. However, the benefits of MHT do not always outweigh the risks in certain medical conditions. Therefore, the use of MHT should be strictly justified and individualized.
Objective: To study clinical, laboratory and instrumental parameters in women in early postmenopause under tibolone intake.
Materials and methods: 41 postmenopausal women were enrolled in an observational study conducted at Pirogov City Hospital No. 1 during the period of September 2024-September 2025. Participants took the hormone replacement therapy (MHT) tibolone (Leatrisa) for 6 months. The study included an analysis of complaints and monitoring of changes in the key instrumental and laboratory indicators after 2 and 6 months of tibolone intake.
Results: The results of the study revealed no growth of the endometrium during the tibolone intake (3.16 mm at the beginning of the study, 2.95 mm after 6 months of taking tibolone). Abnormal uterine bleeding was observed for a short period in 7.3% of patients, which did not require surgical intervention. When analyzing the major indicators (lipid profile, atherogenic index, coagulation profile, D-dimer), no statistically significant changes were detected during the observation period, which indicates the absence of a negative effect of the studied hormonal drug on the lipid profile and hemostasis. In addition, no deterioration in extragenital pathology was demonstrated; for example, in patients with hypertension, there was no increase in blood pressure, which did not require correction of antihypertensive therapy.
Conclusion: Our study showed that tibolone has no proliferative activity on the endometrium or mammary glands, does not affect the growth of myomatous nodes in the short term, and has no negative impact on lipid profiles or hemostasis. Women using tibolone reported a significant reduction in the severity of menopausal symptoms.

Authors' contributions: Ilyina I.Yu., Dobrokhotova Yu.E. – study concept and design, material collection and processing, manuscript conduction and editing.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Funding: The study had no sponsorship.
Patient Consent for Publication: All patients signed an informed consent for data publication.
Authors' Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.
For citation: Ilyina I.Yu., Dobrokhotova Yu.E. The use of tibolone for menopausal hormone therapy.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2025; (11): 156-162 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2025.328

tibolone

menopausal hormone therapy

menopause

climacteric syndrome

abnormal uterine bleeding

mastodynia

Full text (in Russian)

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Received 12.11.2025

Accepted 27.11.2025

Irina Yu. Ilyina, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University,
Ministry of Health of Russia, 117513, Russia, Moscow, Ostrovityanov str., 1-9, Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Yaroslavl State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, 150000, Russia, Yaroslaval, Revolutsionnaya str., 5 , iliyina@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8155-8775
Yulia E. Dobrokhotova, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ostrovityanov str., 1-9, pr.dobrohotova@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7830-2290

The use of tibolone for menopausal hormone therapy

Ilyina I.Yu., Dobrokhotova Yu.E.

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