Four trials that were not combined in meta-analyses suggested that extracts with high ( > 30 mg/d ) levels of genistein consistently reduced the frequency of hot flushes .
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone therapy has traditionally been used as a highly effective treatment , but concerns about increased risk of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternative treatments .
Some of the most popular of these treatments are foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens-plant-derived chemicals that have estrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of food products , extracts and dietary supplements containing high levels of phytoestrogens when compared with no treatment , placebo or hormone therapy for the amelioration of vasomotor menopausal symptoms ( such as hot flushes and night sweats ) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women .
Effect of soy-derived isoflavones on hot flushes, endometrial thickness, and the pulsatility index of the uterine and cerebral arteries.
OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of soy-derived isoflavones on hot flushes , endometrial thickness , and the vascular reactivity of uterine and cerebral arteries . DESIGN Double-blind , r and omized , placebo-controlled trial . SETTING Healthy volunteers in an academic research environment . PATIENT(S ) Sixty-two postmenopausal women aged 45 - 60 years attending the Outpatient Menopause Clinic of our gynecological departments . INTERVENTION(S ) The patients were administered 72 mg of soy-derived isoflavones or placebo under double-blind conditions . The daily number of hot flushes was recorded in a diary . Endometrial thickness was measured by means of transvaginal ultrasound ; the uterine , internal carotid , and middle cerebral arteries were evaluated using Doppler ultrasound . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) The daily number of hot flushes , endometrial thickness , and arterial pulsatility index ( PI ) . RESULT ( S ) Both treatments led to a 40 % reduction in the number of hot flushes . Soy-derived isoflavones had no effect on endometrial thickness or the PI of the uterine and cerebral arteries . CONCLUSION ( S ) The daily administration of 72 mg of soy-derived isoflavones is no more effective than placebo in reducing hot flushes in postmenopausal women . It also has no effect on endometrial thickness or the PI of the uterine and cerebral arteries
Four trials that were not combined in meta-analyses suggested that extracts with high ( > 30 mg/d ) levels of genistein consistently reduced the frequency of hot flushes .
BACKGROUND Vasomotor symptoms , such as hot flushes and night sweats , are very common during the menopausal transition .
Hormone therapy has traditionally been used as a highly effective treatment , but concerns about increased risk of some chronic diseases have markedly increased the interest of women in alternative treatments .
Some of the most popular of these treatments are foods or supplements enriched with phytoestrogens-plant-derived chemicals that have estrogenic action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy , safety and acceptability of food products , extracts and dietary supplements containing high levels of phytoestrogens when compared with no treatment , placebo or hormone therapy for the amelioration of vasomotor menopausal symptoms ( such as hot flushes and night sweats ) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women .