Isoflavones Beneficial in Menopause

HUDDINGE, Sweden—Soy isoflavones significantly reduced menopausal hot flashes and night sweats in 51 women receiving 60 mg/d, according to a three-month study published in The Journal of the North American Menopause Society (14,3:468-473, May/June 2007). Before and after treatment, climacteric symptoms were recorded; serum was collected to measure lipoprotein lipid levels, estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone; and biopsy specimens from endometrium and breast tissue were analyzed to investigate the expression level of steroid receptors and proliferation.

At trial’s end, hot flashes and night sweats were reduced by 57 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Isoflavone treatment did not change levels of circulating estradiol or follicle-stimulating hormone, and breast biopsy specimens showed isoflavones did not affect expression levels of steroid receptors, estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors or the proliferation marker Ki67. No side effects on body weight or lipoprotein lipids were observed.

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