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 .
Low-dose (0.3 mg) synthetic conjugated estrogens A is effective for managing atrophic vaginitis.
OBJECTIVE Estrogen or combined hormone ( estrogen-progestin ) therapy is highly efficacious for managing the signs and symptoms of urogenital atrophy . A low , effective estrogen dose may enhance patient acceptance and reduce side effects . METHODS In this r and omized , double-blind , multicenter clinical trial , 71 healthy postmenopausal women with vaginal atrophy ( Vaginal Maturation Index < or = 55 ) received either low-dose synthetic conjugated estrogens , A tablets ( Cenestin ) ( SCE-A ) , 0.3 mg once daily , or placebo for 16 weeks . RESULTS Treatment with SCE-A for 16 weeks result ed in a highly significant ( P<0.0001 ) mean increase of 17.7 in the Vaginal Maturation Index compared to a mean increase of 4.1 with placebo treatment . A significant estrogenic improvement was detected as early as 4 weeks ( mean increase 14.6 ) . Superficial cells were significantly increased from 2.1 % at baseline to 15.9 % at week 16 with SCE-A , and parabasal cells were significantly reduced from 23.0 % at baseline to 1.6 % at week 16 ( P<0.01 between treatments for both ) . Vaginal pH was significantly decreased from 6.2 at week -2 to 5.2 at week 16 with SCE-A compared to placebo ( P<0.0001 ) . There were no significant differences between treatment groups in the incidence of treatment-emergent side effects or other measures of safety , except for urinary tract infection , which occurred more frequently in the placebo group . CONCLUSIONS These results confirm the relatively rapid estrogenic effect and safety of a low-dose ( 0.3 mg/day ) of slow-release SCE-A ( Cenestin ) in the treatment of vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women
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 .