ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2003 October;162(5):117-20

Copyright © 2003 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Local administration of soy isoflavones in postmenopausal vulvovaginal disease

Morgante G., La Marca A., Lanzetta D., Musacchio M. C., De Leo V.

Dipartimento di Pediatria, Ostetricia e Medicina della Riproduzione, Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena

Aim. Hor­mo­nal replace­ment ther­a­py (HRT) is ­safe and effec­tive in the ­relief of post­men­o­pau­sal symp­toms. For the gen­i­tal ­tract (vag­i­nal dry­ness and thin­ning of gen­i­tal tis­sue) a ­local estro­gen ther­a­py can be ­used. If the ­patient pre­fers to ­avoid hor­mones, ­there are ­some prep­ar­a­tions ­with soy iso­fla­vones ­extracts ­that local­ly ­applied ­induce ­relief of uro­gen­i­tal symp­tom­a­tol­o­gy ­caused by estro­gen ­loss.
Meth­ods. Thir­ty ­healthy men­o­pau­sal wom­en (>1 ­year) ­with uro­gen­i­tal dis­eas­es ­were examined, ran­dom­ly divid­ed ­into 2 ­groups and treat­ed for 3 ­months: ­group A, 18 wom­en treat­ed ­with soy iso­fla­vones ­cream (1 vag­i­nal appli­ca­tion dai­ly); ­group B, 12 wom­en treat­ed ­with a mois­ture gel. ­Local symp­tom­a­tol­o­gy was eval­u­at­ed: dry­ness, dys­pa­reu­nia e ­itch-burn­ing.
­Results. ­Both ­groups ­showed improve­ment in symp­tom­a­tol­o­gy. In ­group A ­there was a sig­nif­i­cant reduc­tion (p<0.005) com­pared to ­group B at the 1st and 3rd ­month of ther­a­py for dys­pa­reu­nia and ­itch-burn­ing. Dry­ness ­showed the ­same reduc­tion in ­both ­groups.
Con­clu­sion. The pos­sibil­ity to use a prep­ar­a­tion ­like ­that ­used in the ­present ­study ­with an ade­quate ­dose of soy iso­fla­vones ­makes it pos­sible not ­only to ­treat, ­with a con­tin­ued use, vul­vo-vag­i­nal symp­tom­a­tol­o­gy but to pre­vent its appear­ance.