[Climacteric syndrome].

The most frequent symptoms of the climacteric syndrome are hot flushes. Although usually they disappear after a few years, hot flushes persist for five or more years in a quarter of the affected women. Aetiology and pathomechanism are not clear.

[Breast cancer and hormone replacement therapy].

There are more than 50 studies and at least 6 metaanalyses with varying results concerning breast cancer risk related to hormone replacement therapy. According to the literature the breast cancer risk in hormone replacement therapy may be slightly increased, especially after long-term treatment. After discontinuing hormone therapy the risk decreases and reaches baseline 5 years later.

[Menopause and its sequelae: an interdisciplinary syndrome].

Menopausal loss of ovarian estradiol production has numerous unfavourable effects on woman's health. Frequency and intensity of hot flushes mostly decline after some years. However, urogenital atrophy, incontinence, bone loss and rising risk for cardiovascular disease and probably for M.

Impairment of the developmental potential of frozen-thawed human zygotes obtained after intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of cryopreservation on the survival, cleavage, and morphology of embryos and on the implantation and embryonic loss rates of human zygotes obtained after ICSI compared with frozen-thawed zygotes obtained after traditional IVF. A further objective was to evaluate the same parameters in nonfrozen sibling ICSI and IVF zygotes and to compare them with corresponding frozen-thawed zygotes.

Design: Open, retrospective, comparative study.

[Hormone substitution in menopause].

Postmenopausal estrogen deprivation is a major cause for vasomotor and psychic complaints and for urogenital dysfunction, it is also a risk factor for osteoporosis, hip fracture, cardiovascular disease and possibly dementia. Hormone replacement therapy is highly effective in improving hot flushes, insomnia, depression and genital atrophia, but it prevents bone mineral loss and coronary heart disease as well. The potential risk for thromboembolism remains small and there is no final proof for a significant increase of breast cancer.

[Contraceptive agents and risk of thrombosis].

In the late sixties and seventies, publications of the Royal College of General Practitioners in England reported that in women using oral contraceptiva the incidence of venous thromboembolism is increased by two to four fold. Moreover, it was demonstrated, that these alterations in coagulation were induced by ethinylestradiol in a dose dependent manner. Following these findings, its dosage was lowered from more than 100 micrograms to 20-30 micrograms per day.