Alternative treatments for the menopause

Concerns about the safety of oestrogen-based hormone replacement therapy after publication of the Women's Health Initiative study and Million Women Study has led to women turning to alternative therapies, erroneously believing that they are safer and ‘more natural’. Evidence from randomized trials that alternative and complementary therapies improve menopausal symptoms or have the same benefits as conventional pharmacopoeia is poor. There are no recognized international criteria for the design of clinical trials of alternative therapies as there are for standard medicines and medical devices for endpoints of treatment and safety evaluations. Studies may have limitations such as design, sample size and duration. There is a wide range of different preparations, making comparison difficult. The evidence regarding botanicals, homeopathy, steroids, vitamin supplements, dietary changes and functional foods, and physical interventions are discussed in this chapter. Standard pharmacopoeia such as clonidine, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and progestogens are also examined.