| abstract |
Claim 1: A method for treating and / or reducing the probability of acquiring symptoms or diseases due to menopause, in postmenopausal women, characterized in that said method comprises administering a sexual steroid precursor selected from the group consisting of dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androst-5-en-3beta, 17beta-diol and 4-androsten-3.17-dione a patient in need of such treatment, wherein said sex steroid precursor is administered as a therapeutic amount that increases the metabolite level of androgen in the circulation without increasing the level of estradiol in circulation above the values observed in normal postmenopausal women in order to avoid the risk of breast and uterus cancer. Claim 23: A method for treating and / or reducing the probability of acquiring symptoms or diseases due to menopause, in postmenopausal women, characterized in that said method comprises administering a sex steroid precursor selected from the group consisting of dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androst -5-en-3beta, 17beta-diol and 4-androsten-3.17-dione a patient in need of such treatment, wherein said sex steroid precursor is administered as a therapeutic amount that increases the level of androgen metabolites in the circulation and also comprises administering as part of a combination therapy, an amount effective for therapeutic use of a selective estrogen receptor modulator in order to decrease the risk of breast and uterus cancer normally seen in postmenopausal women and for prevent bone loss, fat accumulation and type 2 diabetes. Claim 24: The method of claims 21 and 22, characterized in that the selective estrogen receptor modulator has the chemical structure of formula (1). |