Symptomatic Menopause Highlighted in Evidence-based Clinical Overview
LONDON, Nov. 28, 2007--Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics has published a supplementary series of articles focusing on symptoms during the menopausal transition and the challenging treatment issues for the women involved. The reviews are currently freely available to any clinician at www.future-drugs.com/r/meno.
Some 42 million American women will be aged between 45 and 64 years
by 2010, and this figure will rise to 47 million in 2050. Menopause
is a natural phase of female development, which is uncomplicated in
most women. However, it is estimated that at least 7 million women
in the USA alone will present to primary care or gynecology for
help with the more distressing symptoms of menopausal transition
over the intervening 40-year period.
The ten-article collection has been compiled by, and contributed
to, by Dr Jeanne Leventhal Alexander, Director, Northern California
Kaiser Permanente Psychiatry Women's Health Program, and Founder of
the Alexander Foundation for Women's Health, a not for profit
organization, www.afwh.org. The focus of the clinical
review collection is to address the likely etiology and treatment
of midlife patients who have new complaints or complain of an
exacerbation of preexisting complaints in the context of their
menopausal transition. The reviews highlight somatic symptoms of
depression, the depression continuum and its impact on morbidity
and functioning, treatment issues related to remission of
depression, cognitive decline or impairment secondary to mood
disorder, sleep problems in women and their impact on well-being
and functioning, and attention and working memory problems in the
vulnerable woman patient.
The audience for this collection spans a wide range of specialties,
hence the nomenclature or disorders is carefully defined in each
article/section; and summary tables of clinical points are included
in selected reviews to help those unfamiliar with the material or
those who are familiar but need rapid access to the information.
Selected reviews also have case examples to clinically illustrate
the material for those who do not practice that specialty.
Dr Leventhal Alexander commented; "The aim of this clinical review
series is to examine the evidence for the diagnosis and treatment
of the woman who presents with distressing symptoms that she
attributes to menopause, whose actual etiology may be a psychiatric
disorder, a pre- or co-existing problem such as sleep, mood,
stress, or cognitive problems, or a dynamic interaction among one,
or more of these, and a symptomatic menopause. Integrated
multi-specialty treatment is necessary for the successful treatment
of these women who have a combination of these factors, resulting
in a distressing and symptomatic menopausal transition."
Dr Leventhal Alexander continued; "To achieve this integrated
multi-specialty treatment approach, the editors of this series have
divided it into ten separate reviews, each exploring a different
aspect of the comorbid symptomatic menopausal woman's distressing
complaints, their pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment. We hope
that through these articles, readers will come to appreciate the
dynamic interactions of genetics (genomic polymorphisms),
environment, psychiatric illness and medical comorbidity, and how
they interact to affect the health of these patients in the context
of a symptomatic menopausal transition."
The editors of this series are, Dr Jeanne Leventhal Alexander, who
has been a psychiatrist at the Northern California Kaiser
Permanente Medical Group since 1985, and has served as Director of
the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Psychiatry Women's Health
Program since 1995; Dr. Lorraine Dennerstein, Director and
Professor , Office of Gender and Health, Department of Psychiatry,
University of Melbourne, Australia; Dr. Nancy Fugate Woods who is
currently the Dean of the School of Nursing, University of
Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; and Dr. Henry Burger, is a
Professor, Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Monash
Medical Center, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics is a monthly Medline-listed
title published by Future Drugs Ltd (www.future-drugs.com). The
Expert Review series provides healthcare practitioners and research
professionals with a unique source of objective, cutting-edge
information on the exciting emerging trends in healthcare.
- Ends -
For further information please contact:
Simon Boisseau, Sales and Marketing Manager, Future Science Group
T: +44 (0) 20 8371 6083 F: +44 (0) 20 8371 6099 E: s.boisseau@future-drugs.com
Note to editors: The full series of articles is available for
evaluation from www.future-drugs.com/r/meno
ABOUT FUTURE SCIENCE GROUP
Future Science Group, based in London has developed an innovative publishing portfolio to reflect post-genomic medicine. The sequencing of the human genome was a colossal milestone in the evolution of healthcare, with repercussions for all those involved in the healthcare chain. Through its imprints, Future Medicine, Future Drugs and Future Biology, the Future Science Group provides healthcare practitioners and research professionals with a unique source of objective, cutting-edge information on exciting trends emerging in the light of these advances. Our flagship title Pharmacogenomics has evolved to become a leading source of commentary and analysis from international opinion leaders. Momentum toward an individualized approach to medicine is increasing as the value of linking diagnostic and therapeutic approaches becomes ever clearer.
Posted: November 2007
