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 .
The effect of Promensil, an isoflavone extract, on menopausal symptoms.
OBJECTIVES The primary aim was to assess whether the use of an isoflavone extract containing 40 mg or 160 mg of total isoflavones affects the frequency of menopausal flushes and other symptoms . The secondary aims were assessment s of possible effects on menopause symptom scores and biological measures of estrogen activity . METHODS A r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled prospect i ve trial of 37 postmenopausal women with symptoms of estrogen deficiency was performed over a 12-week period . The women were r and omized to three treatment groups : placebo , 40 mg or 160 mg , delivered in tablet form . RESULTS There was no significant difference in the incidence of flushes between the three groups at trial conclusion . There was no difference between the groups in Greene Menopause Symptom Scores , vaginal pH , levels of follicle stimulating hormone ( FSH ) , sex hormone binding globulin ( SHBG ) or total cholesterol , liver function or blood parameters . A statistically significant increase in high-density lipoprotein ( HDL ) cholesterol of 18.1 % ( p = 0.038 ) occurred in the 40-mg group . CONCLUSION A large placebo response and inadvertent use of dietary isoflavones in the placebo group may have obscured a significant change in flushing frequency . Previous uncontrolled studies cl aim ing a beneficial effect of foods with a high isoflavone content on menopausal symptoms may have been confounded by a large placebo response
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 .