LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Menopause: Woman
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Menopause is the time in a woman's life when the function of the ovaries ceases. The ovary, or female gonad, is one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries produce eggs (ova) and female hormones such as estrogen. During each monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary.
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Menopause results from loss of ovarian sensitivity to gonadotropin stimulation, which is directly related to follicular decline and dysfunction. The oocytes in the ovaries undergo atresia throughout a woman's life cycle, and both the quantity and quality of follicles undergo a critical decline approximately 20-25 years after menarche. Thus, the variable menstrual cycle length during perimenopause can be due to anovulation or to irregular maturation of follicles. Hormonal fluctuation may not be responsible for all irregular bleeding during this period; therefore, pelvic pathology (eg, uterine fibroids, uterine polyps, endometrial hyperplasia, endometrial cancer), which becomes more prevalent during this time, must be excluded by endometrial sampling, such as endometrial biopsy (EMB) or dilatation and curettage (D&C).
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Menopause or the "change of life" affects each woman in a different way. Maybe hot flashes and sleep problems troubled your sister during menopause. You... might be feeling a new sense of freedom and energy. Your best friend may hardly be aware of a change at all.
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Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her period stops. It is a normal change in a woman's body. A woman has reached menopause when she has not had a period for 12 months in a row (and there are no other causes, such as pregnancy or illness, for this change). Menopause is sometimes called, "the change of life." Leading up to menopause, a woman’s body slowly makes less and less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This change often happens between the ages of 45 and 55 years old.
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Menopause treatments are needed when a woman reaches the age where her monthly periods come to an end. After this time period, a woman can no longer have children. Most women experience this between the age of forty and sixty, and many women then decide that treatment is needed.
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Menopause may be part of a number of adjustments that women experience at midlife. At the same time a woman is beginning to experience signs and symptoms of menopause, she is usually approaching her fifties. Managing menopause can take place amidst changing family roles, looking after aging parents, thinking about retirement and wondering what she will do with the rest of her life.
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