Tag Archives: menopause

The Menopause – the facts

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The menopause occurs in all women. It can occur when the ovaries spontaneously fail to produce the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, when the ovaries fail due to specific treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or when the ovaries are removed, often at the time of a hysterectomy.

For most women, the menopause occurs when the ovaries naturally fail to produce oestrogen and progesterone when they have few remaining egg cells. At that stage, the ovaries become less able to respond to the pituitary hormones: follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) and less oestrogen is produced. Levels of FSH and LH subsequently rise. The resulting low, and changing levels of ovarian hormones, particularly oestrogen, are thought to be the cause of menopausal symptoms in many women.

The average age of the natural menopause is 51 years, but can occur much earlier or later. Menopause occurring before the age of 45 is called early menopause and before the age of 40 is premature menopause.

Menopausal symptoms affect about 70% of women, are believed to be due to the changing hormone levels, particularly oestrogen. For some people, life-style factors such as reducing/stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake, reducing caffeine intake, reducing stress, eating healthily and taking regular exercise can considerably help the symptoms of menopause.

When do menopausal symptoms begin?

Many women notice early symptoms while still having periods, when the hormone production is declining very gradually. This stage of gradually falling and fluctuating hormone levels is often called the “climacteric”, the “change” or the pre-menopause and often begins when a woman is in her 40s and can last for several years. Because ovarian function fluctuates, women may experience menopause symptoms intermittently.

What are the symptoms of menopause?

There are many potential symptoms of the menopause and no two women’s experiences are the same. Common symptoms are:

• hot flushes
• night sweats
• dizzy spells
• headaches
• swollen breasts and tummy
• weight gain
• fatigue
• insomnia
• nervousness
• anxiety
• irritability
• depression
• a decrease in sex-drive
• vaginal dryness
• urinary disorders
• increase in the risk of heart disease
• osteoporosis

The hot flush, or flash, is well known as the classic menopausal symptom and affects 60–85% of menopausal women. Hot flushes and sweats are called vasomotor symptoms and vary immensely in both their severity and duration.

For about one in five women, these can be very severe and cause significant interference with work, sleep and quality of life. Women are affected by vasomotor symptoms on average for about two years but, for about one in ten, symptoms can continue for more than 15 years. Each hot flush usually lasts 3–5 minutes and is thought to be caused by a change in the temperature-controlling part of the brain. A menopausal woman may flush with every temperature rise – for example, moving between areas of different temperature or having a hot drink – because of a change in the setting of the temperature control centre in your brain; your body thinks that it is overheating even when it isn’t.

Other factors that can also cause flushes include being overweight, alcohol, excess caffeine, spicy foods, monosodium glutamate and some medications. Eating a healthy diet and losing weight if necessary can be helpful. Other simple measures that can help include:

• wearing cotton clothing, rather than man-made fibres
• wearing loose thin layers of clothing rather than thick tight-fitting clothes
• keeping your bedroom temperature fairly cool at night – either leave a door or window open or consider a fan (partner permitting of course!).

Even before the menopause is reached, the first changes in the body begin to make themselves felt. This transitional phase, known as the pre-menopause, gradually sets into a woman’s life at around the age of 45. Symptoms can be similar to those felt during the menopause itself, but are usually not as frequent or severe.

For every woman, there is help available if she needs it – diet, exercise, alternative therapies or even HRT can help to ease the symptoms and make this key life-stage more bearable.

Vichy launches new solution for menopausal skin

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Vichy Laboratories has created a new generation of skin care products that specifically targets women over 50 experiencing hormonal changes, such as those associated with menopause.

NeOVADIOL has been designed to increase skin density and re-enforce underlying skin structure with a new anti-ageing active ingredient, Pro-Xylane.™ that helps improve the appearance of sagging skin.

NeOVADIOL day and night creams are the first skin care products to combine two major discoveries which recreate skin densityand restore its natural framework:

• Pro-XylaneTM, the new Vichy anti-ageing molecule, and
• Isobioline TM, the 1st cosmetic lipo-restructuring active ingredient.

Pro-XylaneTM, is an innovation in the treatment of hormone related skin ageing stemming from seven years of research. Pro-Xylane’s™ primary action is to stimulate the production of collagen (the structural building block for all connective tissue in the human body) and glycosaminoglycans (GAG’s – water retaining molecules that give the dermis its substance & resistance to compression).

During the menopause there is a decrease in the levels of collagen and GAG’s. This leads to a change in the skin’s matrix component, which in turn affects the structure of the skin.

Why do women need it?

When a woman enters her fifties, she is likely to experience the onset of the menopause. There are three distinct clinical signs that accompany this decrease in hormonal activity, resulting in a loss of skin density:

• Skin dryness: deprived of lipids, the skin’s surface gets dry, loses suppleness and the complexion becomes dull

• Thinning skin: epidermal renewal slows down. Epidermal cells populate less frequently and reduce in number. The epidermis becomes thinner. Skin becomes slacker and creases appear.

• Sagging facial contours: the dermis is less resistant and its supporting capacity is reduced. Fibres (collagen and elastin) and GAGs fall in both number and volume.

Dr Paul Jenkins, a consultant endocrinologist at Harley Street’s Genetic Health said: “When we are young our skin has firmness and elasticity that is in part due to an abundance of glycosaminoglycans that absorb water easily thus maintaining skin density. We know that as women undergo hormonal
change at around the age of 50 they start to lose these all important components in connective tissue leading to a noticeable loss of skin density”

Application: Use every day for optimum results

Tolerance: Hypoallergenic and tested on sensitive skin

RRP: NeOVADIOL Day Cream – (RRP £18.95)
NeOVADIOL Night Cream -(RRP £19.25)
NeOVADIOL Dry – (RRP £18.95)

JUDGING THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR YOUR SKIN

Vichy has trained a team of skin specialists based at 700 independent pharmacies throughout the UK. These experts are able to accurately diagnose your skin type and dispense the appropriate product for your needs.

To find your nearest Vichy skin expert visit www.vichy.co.uk Vichy Stockist Number in the UK 0800 169 6193

Pregnancy drug linked to early menopause and cancer

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Boston: Exposure to a common pregnancy drug has been linked to an early menopause for babies exposed to it in the womb, according to a new US study.

The drug, known as DES, an artificial form of oestrogen, was given routinely to women between the 1940s and 1970s to prevent miscarriages. The drug. also known as diethylstilboestrol/Stilbeostrol, was withdrawn in the seventies after it was found to cause defects in children.

But a study of thousands of women by Boston University has revealed that those who were exposed to it in the womb were 50 per cent more likely to start the menopause early.

In addition the women who took it are also at an increased risk of breast cancer, and this risk has likely been passed onto their daughters.

DES was withdrawn after many female children developed cancers of the vagina and other disorders of the reproductive system which made them infertile. The sons had low sperm counts and undescended testicles, and it is thought they might be at increased risk of testicular cancer.

Studies have shown that mothers and daughters both have an increased risk of breast cancer, with the risk increasing with age.

For instance, DES daughters over 40 have almost twice the usual risk of developing the disease. The latest study is the first to look at whether exposure to DES affected a woman’s reproductive life.

The researchers compared the age of menopause of 4,800 ‘DES daughters’ with that of more 2,100 women whose mothers had not taken the drug. The DES daughters were 50 per cent more likely to have reached menopause early. And the more DES their mothers had taken, the greater the risk. Worst affected were those whose mothers had taken part in a DES trial in the Fifties – these women were twice as likely to have reached menopause as others their age.

The increase in risk, the American Journal of Epidemiology reports, is thought to be because DES reduces the number of immature eggs produced as the unborn baby develops in the womb.

Baby girls are usually born with up to two million eggs but by the time they reach menopause all but 1,000 or so have withered away. If DES daughters have fewer eggs to begin with, they might reach menopause earlier.

Lead researcher Professor Julie Palmer, who has studied the effects of DES for 14 years, said that every woman who knows she is DES exposed should be having careful screening for vaginal cancer.

Women who took the drug and the children of these women should seek advice from their doctors.

Menopause causes memory loss, doctors reveal

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Boston: The menopause does cause memory loss, doctors at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York have discovered.

Research shows that the stress of women’s lives combined with a drop in the hormone oestrogen makes them struggle to learn information in the way they did when they were younger.

Scientists say many menopausal women have difficulty recalling facts or names, causing them to worry that their memories are fading.

Doctors at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York said they had noticed more such women attending clinics fearing they may be developing early Alzheimer’s disease. But it was discovered that the women who complained of forgetfulness were actually simply having problems learning new information.

They found that contrary to what many of the participants feared, there was no evidence that the women had worse memory problems than normal.

In fact, they had just never had the time to learn things properly in the first place. Although all were perfectly capable of learning new facts, for some reason they did not fully absorb them.

The researchers said the problem was similar to when a doctor tells a patient something serious may be wrong and provides lots of detailed information. Later the patient can often barely remember what was said to them.

The findings could help menopausal women to discover new ways to improve their recall powers. The researchers have called for larger studies to confirm their findings.