HT treatment with estrogens alone or in combination with progestogens was associated with a small to moderate improvement in sexual function , particularly in pain , when used in women with menopausal symptoms or in early postmenopause ( within five years of amenorrhoea ) , but not in unselected postmenopausal women .
The current evidence does not suggest an important effect of tibolone or of SERMs alone or combined with estrogens on sexual function .
BACKGROUND The perimenopausal and postmenopausal periods are associated with many symptoms , including sexual complaints .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of hormone therapy ( HT ) on  sexual function in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women .
Effective Treatment of Vaginal Atrophy With an Ultra–Low-Dose Estradiol Vaginal Tablet
OBJECTIVE : To evaluate the efficacy of ultra – low-dose 10-microgram 17&bgr;-estradiol ( E2 ) vaginal tablets for treatment of  vaginal atrophy .  METHODS : Postmenopausal women ( N=309 ) were r and omly assigned to 10-microgram E2 or placebo vaginal tablets for 52 weeks in a multicenter , double-blind study . Primary efficacy endpoints included change from baseline to week 12 in vaginal cytology , vaginal pH , and most bothersome urogenital symptoms score . Grading of vaginal health was a secondary efficacy assessment . Safety assessment s included endometrial biopsy , physical and gynecologic examinations , and recording adverse events . RESULTS : At week 12 , the change from baseline for 10 micrograms E2 compared with placebo demonstrated significant improvement in vaginal Maturation Index ( proportion of parabasal cells : –37 % compared with –9 % ; superficial cells : 13 % compared with 4 % ; intermediate cells : 24 % compared with 5 % ; P<.001 for each ) , Maturation Value ( 25.0 compared with 6.5 , P<.001 ) , grading of vaginal health ( –0.91 compared with –0.51 , P<.001 ) , vaginal pH grade ( –1.3 compared with –0.4 , P<.001 ) , and most bothersome symptoms score ( –1.23 compared with –0.87 , P=.003 ) . For each component of vaginal Maturation Index , vaginal Maturation Value , grading of vaginal health , and vaginal pH , treatment effects were statistically different from placebo after 2 weeks of treatment . For most bothersome symptoms , treatment effect became apparent after 4 weeks and reached statistical significance at week 8 of therapy . All treatment effects were statistically significant at week 52 . There were no major safety findings regarding physical , gynecologic , or laboratory assessment s. CONCLUSION : After 12 weeks of treatment , an ultra – low-dose 10-microgram E2 vaginal tablet , compared with placebo , demonstrated significant improvement for the primary endpoints : vaginal cytology and pH and most bothersome urogenital symptoms score . CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION : Clinical Trials.gov , http:// clinical trials.gov , NCT00108849 LEVEL OF EVIDENCE :
HT treatment with estrogens alone or in combination with progestogens was associated with a small to moderate improvement in sexual function , particularly in pain , when used in women with menopausal symptoms or in early postmenopause ( within five years of amenorrhoea ) , but not in unselected postmenopausal women .
The current evidence does not suggest an important effect of tibolone or of SERMs alone or combined with estrogens on sexual function .
BACKGROUND The perimenopausal and postmenopausal periods are associated with many symptoms , including sexual complaints .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of hormone therapy ( HT ) on  sexual function in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women .