NEW YORK -- If you're a woman around the age of 50, hot flashes, sleepless nights, and irritability and moodiness due to menopause are all familiar things. And for some women, hormone replacement therapy has helped alleviate those symptoms.

Six million American women have been prescribed a combination of estrogen and progestin to ward off age-related diseases.

But women are quitting their hormone therapy in droves, after the release of a health study in July that raised serious questions about its benefits and risks.

A nationwide study by the National Institutes of Health was halted this summer because the effects of an estrogen and progestin combination did not lead to the anticipated benefits in preventing heart attacks and strokes, and appeared to boost the chance of developing breast cancer.

Until then, it was thought that hormone therapy would reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease -- by far the No. 1 killer of women in this country.

"We need to readdress why women are taking their hormone preparations," said Dr. Marian Limacher of the University of Florida. "If it was to prevent cardiac disease and stroke, we now need to remove that from the equation and look at why else they might still be on it."

Scientists from the NIH and other organizations are meeting in Maryland to come up with answers for women wondering what to do. Hormones are the undisputed best treatment for symptoms of menopause.

At a two-day workshop, experts summarized that hormone therapy seems to cause a small increase in incidences of breast cancer and heart disease. However, it may also lower the risk of colon cancer and clearly prevents osteoporosis and symptoms like hot flashes.

"I think that the magnitude of the problem of cardiovascular disease in women can not be underestimated and in fact, needs to be emphasized as the driving force for the conduct of this study," Limacher said.

However, that's not the same as saying that all women should stop taking hormone therapy.

"The study did not address using hormone replacement therapy for relief of disruptive symptoms -- hot flashes, [and] sleep disturbances," said Dr. Steven Goldsten. "This is the kind of thing women need to discuss with their doctors on a case-by-case basis. It is not one size fits all."

There are alternative treatments for osteoporosis, but the bottom line is that the absolute risk for any woman taking hormones is small, so taking them for short-term menopausal symptom relief is likely safe. But long-term use needs to be worked out with their doctor.