Diagnosis and Management of Menopausal Symptoms and Role of Hormone Replacement Treatment

Dear colleagues,

With the increase in life expectancy, women find themselves living in menopause about one third of their existence. Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity; a consecutive amenorrhea period for at least twelve months is recognized to occur in natural menopause.

Apart from menopausal symptoms, women are exposed to a greater risk of developing cardiovascular pathologies, osteoporosis with fractures, and neurocognitive disorders due to the estrogenic decline, especially when hormone drop associated with menopause occurs in a premature age. Usually short-term symptoms, starting within one year from menopause onset, include vasomotor disorders, mood and sleep complaints, followed by genitourinary syndrome and more systemic disorders such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and neurocognitive affections, often starting more than 3 years after menopause beginning. Women therefore find themselves living a longer life than in the past, but with the risk of experiencing various disabilities that could worsen their quality of life. In this scenario, it is mandatory to protect female wellbeing in the post-menopausal phase, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) represents the most effective and standardized treatment for menopausal symptoms.

Although there is a wide range of treatment options and women should not have problems with the management of menopausal symptoms, the reality is that controlling these symptoms is associated with several challenges, mainly the ambiguity around the safety of these options, especially hormone therapy.

In this Special Issue, we are looking for reviews and original articles to improve, disseminate, and homogenize the diagnosis and management of menopause, by showing the role of hormonal dosage, ultrasound, and clinical examination in the diagnosis of menopause, especially in the case of premature ovarian failure and benefits and disadvantages of different types of treatment, especially hormonal ones. Therefore, any contributions in this field by reporting experiences around the early diagnosis of menopause and hormonal and non-hormonal replacement treatment or systematic literature reviews on this topic are welcome.

Dr. Angela Musella
Guest Editor

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• menopause
• hormonal replacement therapy
• genitourinary syndrome