Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
Food Sources: whole grains, bananas, potatoes, nuts and seeds, cauliflower.
Adult Female (RDA): 1.6mg.
Types Available: pyridoxine hydrochloride.
Beneficial Effects: Pyridoxine is involved in the production of brain hormones (neurotransmitters).
More than 50 chemical processes in the body are dependent on pyridoxine. Vitamin B6 levels can be low in depression or in women taking estrogen, in the form of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy. Pyridoxine, folic acid and vitamin B6 deficiencies have been associated with osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. At least 10 studies have been done on the use of pyridoxine for PMS. Most studies have shown improvement of PMS symptoms with pyridoxine supplementation. Vitamin B6 has now been associated with a decrease in the incidence of heart disease in women see Menopause-Update February 3, 1998 for more information. Dosage: 50mg.
Precautions: safe when taken in recommended doses.
Herbal Relief for Hot Flashes?
Between 30% and 70% of women experience the hot flashes and night sweats as they go through menopause. These are symptoms prompted by a sharp fall in estrogen as a result of aging. Increasingly, women are turning to herbal treatments rather than pills and patches for relief, but is there any evidence they work? According to a recent issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB),not much.
There is little good quality evidence on the effectiveness of herbal medicines, or how they might react with prescription medicines is available, the DTB reports. And, in general, safety has been under-researched, which is a major concern given that herbal remedies are often assumed to be "safe" just on the grounds that they are natural. Published studies are often poorly designed, include too few participants, or don't last long enough to be of real value. Furthermore, the chemical make-up of various preparations of the same herb may differ, which can make it difficult to compare trial results.
Take black cohosh, for example. It is one of the most common herbal remedies for hot flashes yet study results on effectiveness have been mixed with some studies suggesting it works well and others suggesting it is worthless. It also carries the risk of liver toxicity, a fact which many users are unaware. Still, the drugs regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has given a Traditional Herbal Registration to Menoherb, which contains black cohosh, under a scheme designed to boost the safety of herbal products on sale.
Rapid Transition Through Menopause Linked to Earlier Onset of Heart Disease
A new study detects a possible connection between shorter menopause and faster progression of the heart condition called atherosclerosis.
An evaluation of 203 women as part of the multifaceted Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study (LAAS) found that those who transitioned more quickly through menopause were at increased risk for a higher rate of progression of "preclinical atherosclerosis" - narrowing of arteries caused by the thickening of their walls.
This observational study included 203 women between ages 45 and 60 at the time they entered the study. Fifty-two were premenopausal, 20 were perimenopausal and 131 were postmenopausal. None of the women had been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. They were evaluated when they entered the study and at two 18-month intervals, providing a snapshot over a three-year period of time.
Women who transitioned from being premenopausal to being fully postmenopausal within three years had more build up of fatty plaque in their carotid arteries, suggesting that women who transition through menopause rapidly are at greater risk of early development of heart disease.
"We know that more fatty plaque accumulation predicts future heart attacks and strokes, but this is our first venture into this particular line of inquiry. This is an observational study, which doesn't provide specific recommendations for patient evaluation and treatment, but it does raise questions," said cardiologist C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., principal investigator of the study and director of the Women's Heart Center and the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.
"The findings suggest that we study this more definitively to possibly determine if women undergoing a more rapid menopause might benefit from early hormone replacement therapy," she said.
"In the meantime, physicians could consider using cardiovascular screenings for women who are rapidly transitioning or who have certain risk factors, such as cigarette smoking or chemotherapy, which are known to accelerate transition through the menopause".
The study should not be used by patients to selfยญdiagnose or presume they may be at higher risk because of symptoms.
"Women will say they're perimenopausal because they're having hot flashes or sleep disturbances or some cycle irregularity, but those are all symptoms. We use a very specific code of definitions to assess hormones and whether or not the ovaries are cycling," Merz said, adding that all women from the age of 21 should have annual checkups, which include blood pressure, cholesterol, height, weight and other measurements. Those at increased risk for cardiovascular disease may be referred by their physicians for additional screenings.