Hormonal Changes in Menopause
Ovaries are reproductive organ responsible for producing ovum (egg) as well as the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen (group of chemically similar hormones -estrone, estradiol and abundant) is the primarily female sex hormone which plays a crucial role in normal development and function of female reproductive system and together with progesterone (which is essential for successful implantation of a fertilized egg) regulates the menstrual cycle. Estrogen is also responsible for female secondary sex characteristics such as breasts, pubic hair and vaginal lubrication but it also greatly affects many other tissues, organs and functions: skin, bones, muscles, hair, metabolism, vessels, salt and water retention, and also greatly affects the hormonal activity of other glands.
Since estrogen plays highly important role in variety of female functions decline of its production is primarily responsible for the changes women experience in and after menopause. Although the levels of progesterone also drop in premenopause and menopause the majority of experts believe that low levels of estrogen are the cause of the majority of menopausal symptoms.
The majority of estrogen is produced by the ovaries, while small amounts are also produced by other tissues such as adrenal glands. However, with age ovaries start to produce less and less estrogen and thus women in menopause and postmenopause lose over two thirds of estrogen levels they have had before menopause and become depended exclusively from estrogen production in other tissues. Low levels of estrogen are responsible for the majority of menopausal symptoms and complaints severity of which also greatly depends from the way ovaries ceased producing estrogen. Fortunately in majority of women (except for those whose uterus has been surgically removed) decrease of estrogen production takes place gradually and thus the body has more time to adjust to changes of estrogen levels. Despite that the majority of women in menopause experience menopausal symptoms which greatly vary from woman to woman, while low estrogen levels also represent serious health risk especially in postmenopause.