Hormonal Therapy after Menopause

The loss of sexual hormones has a widespread effect on all systems and organs, as virtually all cells of the female body have receptors for sexual hormones [3]. This loss accelerates the negative multisystemic effects of ageing, with a further detrimental effect. Menopause is characterized by symptoms and signs of sexual hormone loss, with a spectrum of variability and severity, according to: age at menopause (the younger the women the higher the vulnerability) [4,5]; its etiology (spontaneous or iatrogenic, from benign or malignant conditions) [4-5]; the genetic inheritance of the organ vulnerability to this loss, the woman’ general health status and life style [2,5] and the quality of medical care [5]. Predisposing, precipitating and maintaining factors, biological and psychosocial, specifically contribute to the pathophysiology of female sexual disorders during the menopausal transition [6]. Symptoms and signs of menopause can be attenuated by the possibility, availability and feasibility of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) [6-10], now under further study [10-14].