[The application of hypobaric hypoxic therapy for the treatment of menopausal metabolic syndrome].

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of the method designed to adapt women with menopausal metabolic syndrome to periodic hypobaric hypoxia. The patients (68 women at a mean age of 52.8 +/- 1.1 years with menopausal metabolic syndrome) were adapted to hypobaric hypoxia in an Ural-1 low-pressure chamber (twenty two daily 3-hour sessions at a simulated "altitude" of 3,500 m above sea level equivalent to 460 mm Hg). The treatment resulted in a significant decrease of modified menopausal index and body weight (by 53.5% and 6.1% respectively). Moreover, systolic and diastolic blood pressure was reduced by 13.4% and 7.3% while the levels of plasma cholesterol, glucose, and insulin dropped by 19.5%, 21.3%, and 20.2% respectively. The results of the study demonstrate high efficacy of the method of adaptation to periodic hypobaric hypoxia and the possibility of its application for the correction of clinical and metabolic disturbances in postmenopausal women.