Menopause Syndrome, oxidative stress and food supplements

Many women spend almost one third of their lives in menopause, which is a natural process during aging. Menopause represents the time that marks the end of reproductive years in women, accompanied by an important reduction in estrogen production. The decline and eventual cessation of estrogen production has been shown to cause a variety of symptoms during menopause, affecting women’s quality of life differently. Moreover, during aging processes the antioxidant levels decline, leaving the human body susceptible to a variety of ROS-induced damages. Such a decline in conjunction with the gradual reduction of estrogen levels is associated with the various symptoms and negative effects occurring in women during menopause. It has been clinically demonstrated that menopause creates a pro-oxidant state in the body due to the decline of the natural antioxidant, estrogen and foods rich in antioxidants have been shown to be of great benefit in women experiencing menopausal symptoms, because they help to eliminate oxidative stress within the body. There is no pharmacological treatment that can stop menopause syndrome, but current treatments are based on therapies aimed at reducing symptoms that impact women’s quality of life. Noteworthy, there are several natural ingredients able to support women in menopause, and several products are now available, albeit only few can really impact on women’s quality of life. The main differences refer to the availability of direct clinical evidences in support of the product’s efficacy, the quality of the ingredients used and the presence of ingredients that can work synergically. Cor.Con. International has rationally developed and clinically tested a natural supplement that is able to deal with menopause syndrome symptoms.

What is menopause syndrome?

Menopause is a natural process during aging and it represents the time that marks the end of reproductive years in women.1 Menopause is diagnosed after 12 months without a menstrual period. It can happen around 40s or 50s, with an average age about 51. The time leading up to menopause is defined perimenopause (climacteric status), at this time women start to transition to menopause and they usually notice changes in their menstrual cycles or have some symptoms, such as hot flashes. Many women spend almost one third of their lives in menopause. The process is gradual and it happens trough three main stages:

  • Perimenopause (climacteric status): it can start 10 years before menopause, when ovarian gradually produce less estrogen. During the last 1 or 2 years of perimenopause there is an important reduction in estrogen production. It is at this stage that women experience menopause symptoms.
  • Menopause: perimenopause lasts up until menopause, which is the point when women no longer have menstrual periods and ovaries stopped releasing eggs and producing most of estrogen.
  • Postmenopause: this stage represents the time after women have not a period for an entire year. It represents the rest of your life after menopause. During this stage menopausal syndrome may get better. Unfortunately, most women continue to experience menopausal symptoms for a decade or longer. As a result of the permanent reduction in estrogen level, women in the postmenopausal phase are at high risk for several diseases, such as osteoporosis and heart diseases.

The main symptoms of menopause syndrome are:

  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Breast pain and tenderness
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Mood changes
  • Anxiety
  • insomnia
  • changes in libido
  • Osteoporosis
  • Heart diseases

What causes menopause syndrome?

Menopause is a natural process during aging, but it can be caused for reasons such as surgery (oophorectomy, hysterectomy, etc.…), chemotherapy or it can happen early for genetic reasons.

How oxidative stress affects menopause syndrome?

The decline and eventual cessation of estrogen production has been shown to cause a variety of symptoms during menopause, affecting women’s quality of life differently.

Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the aging processes and results from the overproduction of free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS).2–5 In physiological conditions, ROS are largely produced by metabolic reactions and this happens at every moment in every single cell of our body.2–5 Thus, production of oxidizing species and free radicals is a physiological process. The deleterious effects of ROS are neutralized by an ensemble of enzyme and molecules endowed with antioxidant capacity. However, when ROS production exceeds the neutralizing ability of antioxidant defenses, a state of oxidative stress occurs, causing cell damage and death, and eventually diseases, such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.2–5 

During aging processes the antioxidant levels decline, leaving the human body susceptible to a variety of ROS-induced damages. Such a decline in conjunction with the gradual reduction of estrogen levels is associated with the various symptoms and negative effects occurring in women during menopause. Indeed, it has been clinically demonstrated that: menopause creates a pro-oxidant state in the body due to the decline of the natural antioxidant, estrogen.6

Oestrogen is an established antioxidant in the body and during all the stages of menopause (perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause) it becomes deficient. This leads to oxidative stress in various tissues due to the release of ROS, leading to the development of a variety of symptoms and pathologies that characterize menopause. Indeed, foods rich in antioxidants have been shown to be of great benefit in women experiencing menopausal symptoms because they help to eliminate oxidative stress within the body

A multitude of therapies have been employed to target this oestrogen deficit and unfavourable RedOx balance.6

What are the current strategies to deal with menopause syndrome?

There is no pharmacological treatment that can stop menopause syndrome, but current treatments are based on therapies aimed at reducing symptoms that impact women’s quality of life. One of the most well-established treatments of menopause syndrome is based on hormone therapy, which boosts women hormone levels. Hormone therapy can help symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness and it can also help in preventing osteoporosis. The main strategies based on hormone therapy are:

  • Menopausal hormone therapy: that can be based on estrogen therapy (ET) or on Estrogen Progesterone/Progestin therapy (EPT). These therapies are based on the administration of hormones
  • Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs): this therapy it is based on the administration of drugs able to act on estrogen receptors, mimicking the action of the endogenous hormones.

Are there natural supplements useful in menopause syndrome?

There are several natural ingredients able to support women in menopause, and several products are now available, albeit only few can really impact on women’s quality of life. The main differences refer to the availability of direct clinical evidences in support of the product’s efficacy, the quality of the ingredients used and the presence of ingredients that can work synergically.

Cor.Con. International has rationally developed and clinically tested a product that is able to deal with menopause syndrome symptoms:7

  • Afragil:7 is a food supplement based on a specific and harmonized combination of Calcium, Vit. D3, vitamin C and Lycopene. It is rationally designed to support women wellness in the perimenopause and menopause period of time. Afragil is available in chewable tablets; it is recommended to take one tablet per day.

References

1.         What Is Menopause? National Institute on Aging https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-menopause.

2.         Harman, D. Aging:  a theory based on free radical and radiation chemistry. J Gerontol 11, 298–300 (1956).

3.         Pigazzani, F. et al. The Prognostic Value of Derivatives-Reactive Oxygen Metabolites (d-ROMs) for Cardiovascular Disease Events and Mortality: A Review. Antioxidants 11, 1541 (2022).

4.         Poprac, P. et al. Targeting Free Radicals in Oxidative Stress-Related Human Diseases. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 38, 592–607 (2017).

5.         Sies, H. & Jones, D. P. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) as pleiotropic physiological signalling agents. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 21, 363–383 (2020).

6.         Doshi, S. B. & Agarwal, A. The role of oxidative stress in menopause. J Midlife Health 4, 140–146 (2013).

7.        Belcaro, G., Cesarone, M. R., Cornelli, U. & Dugall, M. MF Afragil® in the treatment of 34 menopause symptoms: a pilot study. Panminerva Med 52, 49–54 (2010).