Understanding Menopause

Recent advances in the biology of menopause have helped clarify the importance of female hormones in women’s overall health. Improved patient education that allows women to engage in formal conversations with their care providers helps clinicians to individualize menopause management for their patients. In essence, while menopause is a complex process, it can be understood at a basic level by viewing it simply as a process of hormone withdrawal.  And the hormone of most importance is estradiol, cyclically produced in large amounts by the ovaries during the reproduction years, reflecting the high numbers of eggs that rapidly decrease in number as one approaches menopause.