menopause (mĕn`əpôz) or climacteric (klīmăk`tərĭk, klī'măktĕr`ĭk), transitional phase in a woman's life when the ovaries ovary, ductless gland of the female in which the ova (female reproductive cells) are produced. In vertebrate animals the ovary also secretes the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone , which control the development of the sexual organs and the secondary sexual
..... Click the link for more information. stop releasing eggs, ovarian production of estrogen estrogen (ĕs`trəjən)
..... Click the link for more information. and other hormones tapers off, and menstruation menstruation, periodic flow of blood and cells from the lining of the uterus in humans and most other primates, occurring about every 28 days in women. Menstruation commences at puberty (usually between age 10 and 17).
..... Click the link for more information. ceases. It results from declining ovarian function due to aging of the ovaries and is usually a gradual process. In the United States, natural menopause occurs at age 51 on average. Premature menopause (due to premature aging of the ovaries, debilitating disease, or infection) and artificial menopause (due to destruction of the ovaries by surgery, irradiation, or purposeful hormone therapy, as in severe premenstrual syndrome premenstrual syndrome (PMS), any of various symptoms experienced by women of childbearing age in the days immediately preceding menstruation . It is most common in women in their twenties and thirties.
..... Click the link for more information. ) may occur much earlier.

Menopause may pass with no signs other than cessation of menstruation, or it may be accompanied by menstrual changes (heavy or erratic periods), night sweats, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness. There is some debate as to whether emotional symptoms and "mood swings" are any more common during menopause than at any other age. Lower levels of estrogen following menopause may be accompanied by a variety of physical changes. For example, the risk of osteoporosis osteoporosis (ŏs'tēō'pərō`sĭs)
..... Click the link for more information. , in which the bones lose elasticity and become brittle, increases. In addition, levels of high-density lipoproteins lipoprotein (lĭp'əprō`tēn)
..... Click the link for more information. (HDLs) decrease as low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) increase, arteries lose elasticity, and more body weight is redistributed to the waist area—all heightening the risk of heart disease heart disease, any of several abnormalities of the heart and its function in maintaining blood circulation. Heart disease is the cause of approximately half the deaths in the United States each year.
..... Click the link for more information. . Other possible estrogen-related changes include stress incontinence due to loss of muscle tone in the pelvis, loss of elasticity in the skin, and hair thinning.

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is a controversial treatment introduced in the 1970s for bodily changes that occur in menopause; beginning in the 1980s progestins were added to reduce the risk of uterine cancer. Although ERT eases hot flashes and other physical changes and appears to decrease the risk of osteoporosis, it has been linked to increases in breast cancer breast cancer, cancer that originates in the breast. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women (following lung cancer ). Even allowing for improvements in detection (i.e.
..... Click the link for more information. , heart disease, and stroke.

Other approaches to dealing with the physical changes include exercise to help circulation, increase bone density and HDL levels, and lower stress; lubricants for vaginal dryness; avoidance of smoking and excess alcohol; and dietary changes limiting protein and fat and increasing fiber fiber, threadlike strand, usually pliable and capable of being spun into a yarn. Many different fibers are known to be usable; some 40 of these are of commercial importance, and others are of local or specialized use.
..... Click the link for more information. and calcium calcium (kăl`sēəm) [Lat.,=lime], metallic chemical element; symbol Ca; at. no. 20; at. wt. 40.08; m.p. about 839°C;; b.p.
..... Click the link for more information. . Natural remedies such as vitamins vitamin, group of organic substances that are required in the diet of humans and animals for normal growth, maintenance of life, and normal reproduction. Vitamins act as catalysts; very often either the vitamins themselves are coenzymes , or they form integral parts
..... Click the link for more information. E and B₆ or ginseng ginseng (jĭn`sĕng), common name for the Araliaceae, a family of tropical herbs, shrubs, and trees that are often prickly and
..... Click the link for more information. and other foods that contain or mimic estrogen are sometimes recommended, but research as to their efficacy has been limited.

See also uterus uterus, in most female mammals, hollow muscular organ in which the fetus develops and from which it is delivered at the end of pregnancy . The human uterus is pear-shaped and about 3 in. (7.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See publications of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; J. E. Huston and L. D. Lanka, Perimenopause: Changes in a Woman's Health after 35 (1997); Boston Women's Health Book Collective, Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century (1998).

menopause

Final cessation of menstruation, ending female fertility. It usually begins between ages 45 and 55. A gradual decline in function of the ovaries reduces estrogen production. Ovulation becomes irregular and gradually ceases. The length of the menstrual cycle and periods may vary; flow may lessen or increase. Adjustment of the endocrine system to estrogen reduction causes hot flashes, often at night, with a warm sensation, flushing, and sweating; other symptoms, such as irritability and headaches, may be related more to reactions to aging. Removal or destruction of the ovaries to treat disease causes artificial menopause, with similar but more sudden effects. Changes in hormone balance usually cause no physical or mental disturbances. However, the protective effect of estrogen against osteoporosis and atherosclerosis is lost, and risks of fracture and coronary heart disease increase.

menopause (redirected from menopauses)

Bibliography

menopause

menopause
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