A succinate-based composition reverses menopausal symptoms without sex hormone replacement therapy

Menopausal transition is often accompanied by a variety of adverse pathological symptoms, currently treated with hormone replacement therapy, which is associated with a number of health risks. This report investigated the role of a food supplement--a composition of energy-exchange metabolites, with succinate as the main component--for treating menopausal syndrome. We studied the impact of a 4-week succinate-based food composition (SBC) treatment on the estral cycle, and bone mass and calcium content of aging mice. The impact of SBC on hormone levels and on the progression of several neurovegetative and psycho-emotional symptoms was further investigated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study of early menopausal women. Data were collected from questionnaires, Kupperman index scores, Spielberger-Hanin tests, and blood analysis of hormone levels taken at baseline and throughout the 5-week study. A "rejuvenating" effect of SBC on menopausal animals was observed, expressed as restoration of the estral cycle and an increase in the weight and calcium content of bone tissue. Furthermore, in the randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study in menopausal women, SBC-based monotherapy significantly lowered most subjectively evaluated characteristics of menopausal syndrome and increased blood serum levels of estradiol fourfold. This monotherapy also alleviated symptoms of some neurovegetative and psycho-emotional disorders, such as hot flushes, headache, and anxiety. Succinate-based therapy alleviated many biochemical symptoms of menopause in aging mice and early menopausal women, as well as neurovegetative and psycho-emotional disorders in women. Succinate-based therapy appeared to be free of adverse side effects.