Endocrinology of the Climacteric

In: Menopause · 1999 · pp. 21–34 · doi:10.1007/978-1-59259-246-3_2 · W146886007
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This paper discusses the endocrinological changes preceding menopause, emphasizing the importance of understanding this transition for improving women's health and longevity.

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This paper reviews the endocrinology of the menopausal climacteric, arguing that while menopause marks the permanent cessation of menstrual activity, it reflects an earlier—often more than a decade—altered endocrine milieu. It summarizes evidence on how reproductive aging changes hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian function, including shifts in gonadotropins (FSH, LH), estradiol/progesterone, and related regulators such as inhibin across the menopausal transition and after menopause. A major caveat is that, at the time of writing, the study of the menopausal transition is characterized as still being in its early stages despite the importance of understanding menopause physiology. This paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Menopause is that point of time in a woman’s life when there occurs the permanent cessation of menstrual activity. Although this itself is a discrete milestone on whose basis we very often classify women for health and social issues, the event itself is merely the manifest culmination of an altered endocrinological milieu, the origins of which usually precede the menopause by more than a decade. It was not until after 1900 that the average life expectancy of a woman actually exceeded the time at which most women would naturally encounter the menopause (1). Therefore the study of the menopausal transition is still in its early stages. However, as the world’s population continues to expand (2), and as the projected life expectancy of women approaches the mid-80s, it becomes critical to better understand the physiology of the menopause. Therein lies the ability to improve the quality and duration of the mature woman’s life.
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Abstract

Menopause is that point of time in a woman’s life when there occurs the permanent cessation of menstrual activity. Although this itself is a discrete milestone on whose basis we very often classify women for health and social issues, the event itself is merely the manifest culmination of an altered endocrinological milieu, the origins of which usually precede the menopause by more than a decade. It was not until after 1900 that the average life expectancy of a woman actually exceeded the time at which most women would naturally encounter the menopause (1). Therefore the study of the menopausal transition is still in its early stages. However, as the world’s population continues to expand (2), and as the projected life expectancy of women approaches the mid-80s, it becomes critical to better understand the physiology of the menopause. Therein lies the ability to improve the quality and duration of the mature woman’s life. Preview Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF. Similar content being viewed by others

References

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Editor information Editors and Affiliations Rights and permissions Copyright information © 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York About this chapter Cite this chapter Santoro, N., Tortoriello, D.V. (1999). Endocrinology of the Climacteric. In: Seifer, D.B., Kennard, E.A. (eds) Menopause. Contemporary Endocrinology, vol 18. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-246-3_2 Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-246-3_2 Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-129-5 Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-246-3 eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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