[Hormonal changes in aging from the viewpoint of the gynecologist]

The major relevant age-related changes that take place in women are caused by estrogen deficiency of rapid onset. This deficiency results in such changes as vaginal and vulval atrophy, atrophic urethrocystitis, breast flabbiness, thinning of the skin and its appendages, and also the severe metabolic changes like osteoporosis and cardiovascular disorders. All of these changes, in concert or alone, are capable of impairing a woman's sex life. Numerous genital complaints can be eliminated by local treatment with estriol cream, estriol vaginal suppositories, or systemic estriol. For the successful treatment of pronounced menopausal symptoms and the prevention of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disorders, estrogens at medium, so-called replacement, doses, given in combination with progestagen, are applied sequentially.