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THE QUESTION Women experiencing menopause-related hot flashes often do not want to take hormone therapy because of documented risks, and the effectiveness of herbal alternatives has not been proved. Might an antidepressant be an option to lessen symptoms?

THIS STUDY involved 205 peri- and post-menopausal women, most in their mid-50s, who had an average of about 10 hot flashes a day but were otherwise healthy. They were randomly assigned to take the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) or a placebo daily. After eight weeks, hot flashes were fewer and less severe among those taking the antidepressant than among the others. About 55 percent of the women taking Lexapro, vs. 36 percent of those in the placebo group, reported at least 50 percent fewer hot flashes, and 19 percent (vs. 9 percent) saw a decrease of at least 75 percent.

WHO MAY

Can we determine how soon we’ll be dealing with all those pesky menopausal symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes? The findings, recently published in Human Molecular Genetics, could have considerable impact on women in the UK and other western countries, where many start having children at a later age. Early menopause affects one in 20 UK women.

The study from scientists at the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), funded by The Wellcome Trust, tested four genes associated with the menopause. They compared 2,000 women from the Breakthrough Generations Study who had experienced early menopause with a matched group of the same number. The four genes each affected risk of early menopause. In combination, they had a larger impact, which goes towards explaining why some women experience early menopause.

The Breakthrough

Their study found that the average difference between the age predicted by the test and the actual age a woman reached menopause was about four months, while the maximum margin of error was between three and four years.

If the accuracy of the test is confirmed in larger studies, women could take the test early on their reproductive life to find out their expected age at menopause, knowledge that would help them plan when to start a family, said researcher Dr. Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani, president of the Reproductive Endocrinology Department of the Endocrine Research Centre and associate professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

The

Navigating the waters of menopause does not have to be difficult.  Exercise can make the transition from a woman’s fertile years to menopause much smoother.

When you exercise, your brain secrets a neurotransmitter (or brain chemical) known as dopamine.   This chemical is what gives us a feeling of well being.  Exercise also stimulates production of endorphins, which also give us feelings of wellness and peace.  Runners know all about this when they experience what is known as “runner’s high,” which is nothing more than the release of dopamine and endorphins, stimulated by exercise.  The good news is that you don’t have to be a runner to experience this surge of wellness and peace.

As we age, our metabolisms slow down.  This is why so many middle-aged adults tend to become overweight.  Exercise can stave off the results of a slowing

I saw a middle aged lady walking across the street holding a coffee cup on her head. When I asked her what she was doing she said, “I’m trying to save energy by using this crazy hot flash to reheat my coffee.”  I’m not sure if it worked, but it sure was a humorous sight.  I loved the fact that she had a sense of humor.  Laughter can’t cure menopausal symptoms, but it can certainly help when those pesky symptoms get you down.

Census information tells us that there are…

• 2 million women turning 50 every year…yes prime menopause age.
• The average age of menopause is 51
• 85% of all women going through menopause report having hot flashes and night sweats.
• Over 75 million baby boomers and more than half  of them women

With these statistics, that’s a lot of heat to go around.

There are many reasons

Women with severe hot flashes said their quality of life improved after taking mindfulness classes that included meditation and stretching exercises, according to a new study.

The findings also suggest that such classes could help improve sleep quality, stress, and anxiety during menopause.

“There’s a broad range of attitudes about hot flashes and how they should be treated,” Dr. Ellen Freeman, a menopause expert at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, told Reuters Health.

“There are certainly many, many women who don’t want to take hormones … and don’t want to take other drugs either,” said Dr. Freeman, who was not involved in the current study. Mindfulness, on the other hand, “may be something that they find very acceptable.”

Women with frequent and severe hot flashes and night sweats often also complain about anxiety and stress related