1.   Among promising treatments are those using mock estrogens, chemicals that act like estrogen in fending off heart disease and menopausal symptoms, but do not increase cancer risks.

2.   But the findings of the new study should be duplicated by other scientists before doctors start using estrogen to treat premenstrual asthma, Davis said.

3.   Estrogen is often used, in low doses, in birth-control pills and in post-menopausal treatments.

4.   Estrogen could be used to treat heart disease in men, a new study suggests.

5.   Others use estrogen during one part of the cycle and progesterone during the other part, he added.

6.   Their recommendation calls for a dramatic change in thinking among heart specialists, a group that has been reluctant to use estrogen to prevent heart disease.

7.   Estrogen is used to treat symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness and bone thinning.

8.   The risk was lower among women who used oral estrogen and for those who used injections or creams, it says.