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WHAT IS MENOPAUSE?
For most of a woman's reproductive years the brain, in particular a part of it known as the hypothalamus sends a message to another part of the brain, the pituitary gland to produce two hormones. The follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and the luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulate the ovary to release an egg approximately every month. As this occurs, estrogen and progesterone are produced and stimulate the lining of the uterus to thicken. The ovary also produces some of the testosterone found in women. Without fertilization, the egg dies and the lining of the uterus is shed in the form of a menstrual flow.
BRAIN:
hypothalamus
pituitary gland: FSH and LH
OVARIES:
estrogen, progesterone, testosterone
Is a term used to describe a period of time between a woman's normal reproductive years and her menopause years.
A woman often notes around this time many symptoms which are related to a relative imbalance of the three major hormones :
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
- Testosterone
Menopause is a period of hormonal change, indicated by the end of menstruation and often accompanied by symptoms that are more or less specific in nature. It marks the turning point in a woman's life, characterizing the end of her child-bearing years.
Around the time of the menopause the ovary ceases to ovulate and produce its hormones, giving rise to two events:
- the cessation of periods
- increased secretion of the brain hormone FSH, to try to stimulate the ovary to ovulate.
The Greek derivatives of the word menopause are:
meno-"month" and pause-"cessation"
It is a time when a woman's estrogen production drops to 50% of its premenopausal level, and the production of progesterone drops to 1% of its premenopausal level, resulting in the cessation of menstrual flow.
Menopause can be confirmed by blood tests:
Typically, the level of FSH is greater than 30 IU/L and the level of estradiol, one of the most potent estrogens, is less than 110 pmol/L.
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