Menopause Research

Menopause-the end of a woman's menstruation-is named from the Greek word mens, menaing "monthly," and pausis, meaning "cessation" (Canadian Women's Health Network, 2006). Menopause occurs as a natural part of the aging process in a woman when her ovaries no longer produce high levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone and she can no longer become pregnant (Canadian Women's Health Network, 2006). Although a woman's first menstruation starts on a single day, the changes that lead up to menopause occur gradually over a period of several years, with the average age of occurrence being 52 and the age range being between 42 and 56 (Canadian Women's Health Network, 2006). The standard gauge indicating that a woman has begun menopause is that she has not experienced a period for a full year (Canadian Women's Health Network, 2006).

Menopause has been viewed from different perspectives down through the centuries. In the 19th century, Victorian physicians took it as sign of sin and decay, and in the 20th century with the advent of Sigmund Freud's psychological theory, it was regarded as a neurosis (McCrea, 1983). McCrea (1981) points out that in the 1960s, when synthetic estrogen became available, physicians reinterpreted menopause as a "deficiency disease" (McCrea, 1983). McCrea (1983) asserts that four themes pervade the medical definition of menopause: that women's potential and function are biologically destined, their worth is ba

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ptoms of menopause that women typically complain about are merely uncomfortable or annoying, some of the others are more serious. Vasomotor dysfunction is one of these. In normal vasomotor function, the blood vessels dilate and constrict to regulate blood flow in the body, but in vasomotor dysfunction, there is excessive blood vessel constriction that causes high blood pressure and that can precipitate cardiovascular events. Blood vessels' endothelium "plays a pivotal role in normal vessel homeostasis by regulating vasomotor tone, barrier permeability and haemostatic processes," so when these functions do not operate normally, cardiovascular problems can ensue (Elbaz, Carri�, Baudeux, Arnal, Maupas, Lotterie, Perret, & Puel, 2005, p. 311). Thus, women in menopause who have never had high blood pressure or atherosclerosis in the past may have symptoms of these as menopause progresses. Typically, they would be prescribed medications to reduce hypertension and promote blood flow, but newer studies have shown that endothelial vasomotor dysfunction can be reversed using high doses of vitamin C instead (Elbaz, Carri�, Baudeux, Arnal, Maupas, Lotterie, Perret, & Puel, 2005, p. 311). Ascorbic acid-vitamin C-acts as a scavenger of su

Category: Science - M