Managing the menopause
By 
Rachel Brazil2025-05-20T13:30:00
The end of ovulation will affect almost all women, but current treatments could be improved. Rachel Brazil reports on the efforts to find a better solution
Menopause occurs when women cease ovulation, usually between 45 and 55 years of age, leading to oestrogen and progesterone levels sharply falling over a typical period of two years. The common result is symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and trouble sleeping. The hormones themselves also have a protective effect, and without them there is evidence that woman are at higher risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. Most recently, research has linked increased menopause symptoms to a higher risk of dementia.
One of the most well-established ways to treat the symptoms of menopause is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which supplements the reproductive hormones oestrogen and progesterone that are lost when ovulation ends. But HRT has had a rocky road since it was first used in the early 1940s.