MENOPAUSE AND THE AGING FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE-SYSTEM

Menopause is a fact of life for women, who live the last third of thei r lives in a postmenopausal state. Although estrogen replacement thera py offers primary prevention and treatment of vasomotor, urogenital, a nd osteoporotic symptoms of estrogen deprivation and seems to have ben eficial effects on cardiovascular mortality, only 20% of women in the United States currently are taking hormone supplements. This article d iscusses the menopause-influencing changes in the hypothalamic-pituita ry-ovarian axis with associated neuroendocrine and sex hormone changes , their physiologic consequences on the reproductive system, and curre nt recommendations for hormone replacement therapy.