[History of the hormonal treatment of climacteric disease symptoms]

The first trials using oestrogen-containing substances to treat climacteric symptoms were performed as long ago as the end of the last century, when oestrogenic hormones were not yet even known to exist. However, it took a further 60 years or so before oestrogens and other sex hormones such as progestogens and androgens could be prepared in the form of acceptable hormonal drugs. Meanwhile, the use of such drugs and their artificial derivatives for the treatment of climacteric complaints and disorders and the prophylaxis of major postmenopausal diseases has been refined to such a high degree of safety and efficacy that these forms of therapy have become part of the essential medical armamentarium.