Description
Book SynopsisDrawing from a wide range of scholarly research, archival records, and interviews, The Estrogen Elixir provides valuable historical context for one of the most pressing debates in contemporary medicine.
Trade ReviewThis is an excellent book, and one I would heartily recommend to anyone with an interest in the history of the health sciences or the history of the women's movement. Doody's Review Service 2007 Much has been written about post-menopausal estrogen therapy... This wonderful book tells the story. -- Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, M.D. New England Journal of Medicine 2007 A good read. -- Wulf H. Utian Journal of Clinical Investigation 2008 The Estrogen Elixir sets a high standard for future histories of pharmaceuticals and of aging. -- Jimmy Elaine Wilkinson Meyer Journal of American History 2007 This book takes an in-depth, socially analytical look at the evolution of menopausal hormone therapy in the United States, with a focus on estrogen since its discovery... Watkins tells the story accurately and objectively. No accusations and no praise, just the facts. -- K. Eddie Gabry, MD, MS JAMA 2008 Watkins provides a fascinating, multi-faceted study of HRT, leaving no voices out of the debate. -- Wendy Kline History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 2007 Watkins presents a detailed account of the historical record of the subject. -- Carlos Sonnenschein Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2008 More than a medical history of HRT. It is also a history of the medicalization of women's health and changing cultural attitudes toward aging, femininity, female identity, women's health activism, and the science of drug evaluations. -- Dominique Tobbel Chemical Heritage Magazine 2008 A fascinating aspect of Watkins's story is how drugs can be rebranded in the face of falling sales. -- Bruno J. Strasser Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 2008 A significant work on the social history of American medicine and a major contribution to the growing literature on hormonal therapeutics and research. -- Chandak Sengoopta Isis 2008 Estrogen Elixir has many strengths... a commendable and welcome addition to emerging literature in modern women's health history. -- Suzanne Junod, Ph.D. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 2010
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Beginnings
2. From the ''Neutral Gender'' to ''Feminine Forever''
3. Selling Estrogen to Doctors
4. Selling Estrogen to Women
5. From Hero to Villain: Estrogen and Endometrial Cancer
6. Enter the Feminists: Informing Women about Estrogen
7. Enter the FDA: A Patient Package Insert for Estrogen
8. Resurrecting Estrogen, I: Osteoporosis and Medical Science
9. Resurrecting Estrogen, II: Osteoporosis and American Culture
10. Skeptics and Believers: Varieties of Women's Responses
11. Weighing the Benefits and Risks of HRT: Estrogen, Heart Disease, and Breast Cancer
12. 1992: The Year of the Menopause
13. Meno-Boomers: Another Generation Confronts Estrogen
14. The ''Gold Standard'': Estrogen and the Randomized Controlled Trials
Notes
Index
