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 clinical use of a preparation based on phyto-oestrogens in the treatment of menopausal disorders.
In order to evaluate the efficacy of soya isoflavones ( genistein and daidzein ) in the treatment of the principal menopausal disorders , a double blind r and omized study was performed on a sample of 50 women ( with an average age of 53.3 + /- 3.1 years ) with Climacteric syndrome referred to the I Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica , Policlinico Umberto I , Roma . The research protocol involved the r and om subdivision of the enrolled sample into two groups of 25 women , group 1 ( with an average age of 53.3 + /- 3.5 years , and an average menopausal age of 51.6 + /- 1.8 years ) and group 2 ( with an average age of 53.1 + /- 2.9 years , and an average menopausal age of 51.3 + /- 1.2 years ) , who were to receive treatment for three months with the product being studied and with a placebo . After the three-month period , as an additional check , the group initially treated with the placebo would move to the phyto-oestrogens and viceversa . All of the patients were subjected to a series of clinical and instrumental examinations and were asked to fill in a question naire concerning their complaints , at the start , at halfway ( third month ) and at the end ( sixth month ) of the trial . The results of the evaluation of the question naires performed on the 47 patients who had completed the trial showed , in the first three months , an improvement in the symptoms ( hot flushes ) in 11 patients treated with phyto-oestrogens against 6 patients from the group that received only the placebo . In the second three-month period the hot flushes reappeared in 4 of the 11 patients who had previously seen improvements and had then passed to the placebo . In contrast , the group that passed to the phyto-oestrogens , after treatment with the placebo , experienced the disappearance of hot flushes in 11 women , including the 6 who had already improved in the first three months . There was no significant reduction in anxiety , insomnia or vaginal dryness . None of the enrolled patients indicated complaints linked to the treatment . It can be concluded that the use of a product based on phyto-oestrogens , such as the one experimented , can lead to a significant reduction in some of the disorders linked with the menopause , especially hot flushes
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 .