Estrogens

The results of large clinical trials have led physicians and patients to question the safety of hormone therapy for menopause. In the past, physicians prescribed hormone therapy to improve overall health and prevent cardiac disease, as well as for symptoms of menopause. Combined estrogen/progestogen therapy, but not estrogen alone, increases the risk of breast cancer when used for more than three to five years.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the effects of six interventions for menopausal vasomotor symptoms relative to control in a pooled analysis, facilitating translation of the results for clinicians and symptomatic women. The Menopause Strategies: Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health network tested these interventions in three randomized clinical trials. METHODS: An analysis of pooled individual-level data from three randomized clinical trials is presented. Participants were 899 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with at least 14 bothersome vasomotor symptoms per week.

The results of large clinical trials have led physicians and patients to question the safety of hormone therapy for menopause. In the past, physicians prescribed hormone therapy to improve overall health and prevent cardiac disease, as well as for symptoms of menopause. Combined estrogen/progestogen therapy, but not estrogen alone, increases the risk of breast cancer when used for more than three to five years.

OBJECTIVE: To create an evidence-based position statement regarding the treatment of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. DESIGN: The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) enlisted clinicians and researchers acknowledged to be experts in the field of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms to review the evidence obtained from the medical literature and develop a document for final approval by the NAMS Board of Trustees.

Although the hot flush is generally recognised by women and the medical profession as the most characteristic and often a very distressing symptom of the climacteric, it remains an enigma. The physiological changes associated with the hot flush are different from any other flushing condition, with an increased peripheral blood flow, increased heart rate and in particular a decrease in galvanic skin resistance, which is unique to the flush.

Although the hot flush is generally recognised by women and the medical profession as the most characteristic and often a very distressing symptom of the climacteric, it remains an enigma. The physiological changes associated with the hot flush are different from any other flushing condition, with an increased peripheral blood flow, increased heart rate and in particular a decrease in galvanic skin resistance, which is unique to the flush.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common problem among women. However, comparative effectiveness strategies for managing recurrent UTIs are lacking. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review of management of women experiencing ?3 UTIs per year. We then developed a Markov chain Monte Carlo model of recurrent UTI for each management strategy with ?2 adequate trials published. We simulated a cohort that experienced 3 UTIs/year and a secondary cohort that experienced 8 UTIs/year.

The results of large clinical trials have led physicians and patients to question the safety of hormone therapy for menopause. In the past, physicians prescribed hormone therapy to improve overall health and prevent cardiac disease, as well as for symptoms of menopause. Combined estrogen/progestogen therapy, but not estrogen alone, increases the risk of breast cancer when used for more than three to five years.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive disease which is caused by degeneration of motor neurons in the central nervous system. The incidence of ALS is higher in men than women, but the female advantage disappears with increased age. Here, we report evidence that the female advantage is due to the protective role of estrogen. In an ALS mouse model carrying the human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (hSOD1) G93A transgene, ovariectomy did not alter the onset age of the disease while reducing the female lifespan by 7 days and making it comparable to that of the male transgenic mice.

Sex differences in lifespan exist world-wide, with women outliving men by more than a decade in some countries. The gender gap is not a uniquely human phenomenon; most sexually reproducing species examined show sex differences in patterns of ageing, yet a comprehensive explanation does not exist. Here, we discuss how ageing responds to natural selection on traits that arise as a consequence of sexuality.