menopause

A study has analysed structural changes in the female brain during the three main hormonal transitions: puberty, pregnancy and the menopause. To do this, using longitudinal neuroimaging – which records images of the brain over time – the researchers compared women transitioning from one hormonal phase to another with participants currently in those hormonal phases – more than 1,000 women in total. The results, published in Nature Communications, show that the transitions of puberty and pregnancy lead to a reduction in cortical grey matter, whilst women going through the menopause did not show a significant decrease in either cortical grey matter or total brain volume.

An analysis based on Google Trends data collected between 2005 and 2025 showed that the proportion of menopause-related searches referring to commercial products and services increased by between 15 and 20 percentage points in the UK, Australia and the US. These findings suggest that people may increasingly be seeking non-clinical approaches to managing the menopause, not only for symptom relief but also for guidance, monitoring and support outside of clinical consultations. The study is published today in the journal JAMA Network Open.

A study led by researchers in Canada has analysed the relationship between perimenopausal symptoms and later cognitive and behavioural problems in nearly 900 women. Their findings are that those with more symptoms were more at risk of cognitive problems and dementia later in life. The results are published in the journal Plos One.

The menopause should be tackled not just by treating specific symptoms, but more broadly, argue a group of researchers in an article published in The Lancet, one of a series on the subject. A medicalised approach can disempower women and lead to overtreatment, the authors warn. "Instead of focusing on menopause as an endocrine deficiency, we propose an empowerment model", they say. This model would incorporate the influence of psychological, social, and contextual factors that can be modified, and would also value the patient as the expert on her own condition.

Heavy metals - including arsenic, cadmium and mercury - may adversely affect the ovaries of women approaching menopause, a study claims. Those with high levels of metals in their urine had lower levels of anti-Müllerian hormone, indicating diminished ovarian reserve - fewer oocytes in the ovaries compared to other women of that age. The authors, whose study is published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, used urine data from more than 500 women in the US up to 10 years before their last menstrual period.

The vast majority of mammals remain fertile until the end of their lives. Humans and some species of whales deviate from that norm and do go through menopause. Now, research published in Science reveals that menopause exists in female chimpanzees, too, and that it lasts for a fifth of their adult lifespan. To reach these conclusions, the research team observed 185 female chimpanzees between 1995 and 2016 in Uganda's Kibale National Park and measured hormone levels in urine samples from specimens of various ages.

A review published in the journal Cell highlights the "urgent need" for more studies on the menopause - and at an international level, so that the results can be applied to all countries. The article, published by a research team in Australia, the US and Italy, summarises the available evidence on the biology of the menopause, its consequences for women and therapeutic options. It highlights the lack of studies in certain areas, for example on the efficacy of non-oral oestradiol, or on the efficacy and safety of hormone therapies during the perimenopause.