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 .
Short-term urogenital effects of raloxifene, tamoxifen, and estrogen.
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the urogenital effects of raloxifene , tamoxifen , conjugated equine estrogen , and placebo in healthy postmenopausal women . STUDY DESIGN This r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled study compared the urogenital effects of 0.625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen ( n = 15 women ) , 20 mg of  tamoxifen ( n = 14 women ) , 60 mg of raloxifene  , ( n = 15 women ) , and placebo  ( n = 13 women ) . Evaluations at baseline and evaluations after 20 weeks receiving the drug included a pelvic examination with cytologic evaluation of vagina and urethra , pelvic organ prolapse quantitation , and urethral axis deflection by cotton swab test ( only in patients with incontinence [ 33 % ] ) . RESULTS Conjugated equine estrogen increased the maturation value of both urethral and vaginal cytologic condition ( P = .002 , P = .032 , respectively ) . There was a decrease in vaginal maturation value in the raloxifene group ( not significant ) . Two of 8 women in the conjugated equine estrogen group showed evidence of worsening prolapse by pelvic organ prolapse quantitation ; the condition of 2 of 8 women improved . In the raloxifene , tamoxifen , and placebo groups 8 of 12 women , 4 of 13 women , and 2 of 11 women had worsening in prolapse scores , respectively , whereas none of the women had improvement . Increased cotton swab deflection was found in 3 of 5 women in the raloxifene group , in 5 of 8 women in the tamoxifen group , in 0 of 4 women in the placebo group , and in 0 of 2 women in the conjugated equine estrogen group . Seventy-five percent of the patients who received raloxifene and 60 % of the patients who received tamoxifen had increases in prolapse by any measure ( ie , pelvic organ prolapse quantitation or cotton swab or clinical assessment ) compared with 18 % of the patients in the placebo group and 22 % of the patients in the conjugated equine estrogen group ( P = .015 ) , although symptoms did not differ among groups . CONCLUSION Neither raloxifene nor tamoxifen improve cytohormonal effects in the vagina or urethra , whereas conjugated equine estrogen does . Raloxifene and tamoxifen appear to show worsening prolapse compared with conjugated equine estrogen and placebo . The clinical relevance of these effects is unknown and requires investigation
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 .