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 .
Effects of soy isoflavones on menopausal neurovegetative symptoms.
AIM Dietary soy supplementation may reduce the incidence of hot flushes in postmenopausal women due to the presence of phytoestrogens in soy foods . The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a 3-month administration of different doses of either oral or transdermal soy isoflavones on climacteric complaints in postmenopausal women . METHODS Sixty postmenopausal women were assigned r and omly to one of the following groups : groups A and B received 50 mg/day or 75 mg/day of oral isoflavones respectively , while groups C and D received 6 mg/day or 12 mg/day of transdermal isoflavones . A control group ( group E ) was composed of 15 patients that did not receive any treatment . Hot flushes , Kupper-man index and vaginal dryness at baseline and then after 5 , 9 and 13 weeks were evaluated . RESULTS The isoflavone treatment led to a progressive significant ( p<0.01 ) reduction of the number of hot flushes in the groups A , B and D with a dose-related effect in group D. At week 13 , the Kupperman index and hot flush score decreased significantly in all the treated groups , while vaginal dryness score was reduced only in group B. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that both oral and transdermal soy isoflavones are effective to attenuate slight to moderate menopausal neurovegetative symptoms with a dose-related effect
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 .