Alternative therapies for postmenopausal women.

Abstract

Alternative therapies are being used by postmenopausal women in attempts to treat all of the complaints and medical conditions of the menopause. One-fifth of those who take prescription drugs for these indications also take herbal remedies and/or high-dose vitamins, most often without disclosing the fact to the physician. Although studies of alternative therapies are short-term and rarely focused on safety--let alone efficacy--in the long-term, there are many studies spread over the large number of substances involved. More than 130 studies, including meta-analyses, are reviewed in this article under the headings of phytoestrogens, especially from soy; therapies for hot flushes; and preventives for cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. Special attention is given to the recently recognized daidzein metabolite equol, and for the sake of completeness there are reviews of the unconventional, but not botanical, treatments estriol, transdermal progesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone. The total picture produced by conscientious review of the studies is bleak overall, but there seems to be good reason to pursue the possibilities inherent in soy protein with phytoestrogens in populations of women who endogenously produce equol.