Skip Navigation


Human Reproduction Update Advance Access originally published online on July 14, 2007
Human Reproduction Update 2007 13(6):559-565; doi:10.1093/humupd/dmm020
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
13/6/559    most recent
dmm020v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Burger, H.G.
Right arrow Articles by Dennerstein, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Burger, H.G.
Right arrow Articles by Dennerstein, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

A review of hormonal changes during the menopausal transition: focus on findings from the Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project

H.G. Burger1,4, G.E. Hale2, D.M. Robertson1 and L. Dennerstein3

1 Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, Australia 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen Elizabeth II Research Institute for Mothers and Infants, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 3 Office for Gender and Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne Parkville, Victoria, Australia

4 Correspondence address. Tel: +61-39-594-3553; Fax: +61-39-594-3558; E-mail: henry.burger{at}princehenrys.org

The menopause, defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity, marks the end of natural female reproductive life. It is preceded by a period of menstrual cycle irregularity, the menopausal transition, which usually begins in the mid-40s and is conventionally divided into early and late phases. The endocrine changes, which underlie the transition, are predominantly the consequence of a marked decline in ovarian follicle numbers. The most significant changes include a decrease in early cycle inhibin B and in anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels. The decline in inhibin B results in an increase in FSH, which appears to be an important factor in the maintenance of estradiol (E2) concentrations until late in reproductive life. In the post-menopause, FSH levels are markedly raised, E2 levels are low, whereas inhibin B and AMH are undetectable. The menopausal transition is a time of marked hormonal instability. The Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project has been an extremely productive study in which it has been possible to describe longitudinal changes in hormone levels throughout the menopause transition and to separate the effects of hormone change from the effects of ageing on a number of endpoints. This review provides the background for an accompanying manuscript in which a novel approach to modelling the hormonal changes during the transition is described.

Key words: estradiol / follicle stimulating hormone / inhibin / progesterone / testosterone

Received on October 11, 2006; revised December 19, 2006; accepted on May 30, 2007


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.