(The Use of Phytoestrogens In Management of Menopausal Symptoms (A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Klimadynon, which is an ethanolic extract of the phytoestrogen Cimicifuga racemosa in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. It was also aimed at evaluating the safety of C. racemosa by assessment of its effect on the endometrium and the breast. During the period from May 2001 to April 2003, postmenopausal women with menopausal symptoms at Assiut University Hospital were evaluated for participation in a prospective randomized trial. Informed consents were obtained from 60 women randomized into 2 groups the Klirnadynon group and the placebo control group (30 women in each group). The inclusion criteria included postmenopausal women over 40 years of age, with lapse of one year after the last menstruation, after naturally occurring or surgically induced menopause. Exclusion criteria included vaginal bleeding, active liver disease, present or past thromboembolic disease, acute venous thromboembolism, neoplasia of the breast, neoplasia of the uterus and the use of HRT for less than 3 months prior to the study. The study subjects and the controls were informed about the nature of the their treatment, i.e. the study was not blinded to patients or investigators. Patients were chosen at the Outpatient Gynecology Clinic and

interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Assessment of the patients done prior to the study by thorough history taking, detailed analysis of menopause-related symptoms using Greene Climacteric Scale (Greene, 1991) to make an objective and comparable evaluation of menopausal symptoms.