Estrogen Elixir

Elizabeth Siegel Watkins is a professor in the History of Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of On the Pill: A Social History of Oral Contraceptives, 1950-1970, also published by Johns Hopkins.

This 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

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Beginnings2. From the ''Neutral Gender'' to ''Feminine Forever''3. Selling Estrogen to Doctors4. Selling Estrogen to Women5. From Hero to Villain: Estrogen and Endometrial Cancer6. Enter the Feminists: Informing Women about Estrogen7. Enter the FDA: A Patient Package Insert for Estrogen8. Resurrecting Estrogen, I: Osteoporosis and Medical Science9. Resurrecting Estrogen, II: Osteoporosis and American Culture10. Skeptics and Believers: Varieties of Women's Responses11. Weighing the Benefits and Risks of HRT: Estrogen, Heart Disease, and Breast Cancer12. 1992: The Year of the Menopause13. Meno-Boomers: Another Generation Confronts Estrogen14. The ''Gold Standard'': Estrogen and the Randomized Controlled TrialsNotesIndex