Menopause A to Z.pdf - Medwords.com.au

MENOPAUSE A to Z
gland can be performed through the nose, as the pituitary gland rests on top of the nasal cavity.
The pituitary not only has its own activity but also regulates the activity of other glands, acting as the conductor of
the endocrine (gland) orchestra. It is no bigger than the size of a walnut. In total the pituitary gland produces nine
different hormones.
The human growth hormone is one of
these hormones and possibly the most
important. If too little of this hormone is
produced during childhood, the child's
growth will be stunted and it will be a
dwarf. If too much is produced, the child
will grow to an abnormal size.
Other hormones stimulate the thyroid
gland and the adrenal glands.
Antidiuretic hormone again acts on the
kidneys and regulates the balance of
water and salts in body fluids.
The follicle stimulating hormone tells
the female ovaries and the male testicles
when to produce oestrogen and
testosterone, and the hormone prolactin
stimulates the manufacture of milk in nursing mothers and controls the menstrual cycle.
At the end of pregnancy when the time comes for the child to be born, the pituitary stimulates the muscles in the
uterus to contract and start labour.
Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) controls the activity of the outer part of the adrenal glands, which sit on top of
each kidney.
Melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) is produced in the anterior part of the pituitary gland and stimulates
melanocytes (skin pigment cells) to produce the black coloured melanin that gives darker colours to skin and hair.
The direct connection of the pituitary gland, and through it the other endocrine glands, to the brain and thus the
nervous system is the reason why our mental and emotional states can influence our hormone levels and vice versa. If
the pituitary gland malfunctions, the effects can obviously be wide-ranging because of the gland's importance in so
many parts of the body.
See also HORMONES
POSTMENOPAUSAL VAGINITIS
See ATROPHIC VAGINITIS
PREMATURE MENOPAUSE
See PREMATURE OVARIAN FAILURE
PREMATURE OVARIAN FAILURE
One in every one hundred women suffers from premature ovarian failure, a condition in which the ovary ceases to
function normally at a far earlier age than expected. It is really an onset of the menopause at an early age, usually
defined as before 40 years of age. One in very thousand women has premature ovarian failure before the age of 30
years.
Because many women are now delaying pregnancy until their career is established, premature ovarian failure is
becoming a steadily more significant problem in the community.
Affected women cease their periods and are unable to fall pregnant. They may start to lose some of their feminine
characteristics as the breasts sag and pubic hair becomes sparse.
There are usually no warning signs of a premature menopause, and the first a woman knows about it is when her
periods cease. The most common time for the problem to occur is actually after a pregnancy, abortion or miscarriage
when the menstrual periods fail to restart. There is a family tendency though, so it may be able to judge the risks of
premature ovarian failure by the experience of older sisters or the woman’s mother.
To refer to premature ovarian failure as premature menopause is not strictly correct, as more than half of these
women still have eggs (ova) in their ovaries at the time the condition is diagnosed, but the mechanism for the
maturation and release of these eggs is faulty.
There is no specific cause for the condition in most cases although in some cases there is an obvious cause such
as chemotherapy or irradiation for pelvic cancer, and surgery or injury to the pelvis that damages the ovaries. Rare
causes of premature ovarian failure include the disease galactosaemia, severe pelvic infections, some autoimmune
diseases (eg. Addison disease, myasthenia gravis), severe diabetes, thyroid disease and a number of rare syndromes.
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