Estrogen is an important hormone in a woman’s body that exerts a great amount of influence in the woman’s life. Estrogen is primarily responsible for the sexual development of women and contributes to the development of breasts and the occurrence and regulation of menstrual cycle in women. After puberty the production of estrogen increases and then it remains constant for around 25 years. After this period estrogen levels drop and eventually women experience menopause.

During menopause estrogen consistently reduces and the body tries to fight this by the production of two hormones. These hormones are ovule stimulating hormone and Luetinisante hormone. So in menopause estrogen reduction combined with these two hormones can result in some menopause symptoms such as night sweats and hot flushes. The woman’s body has three types of estrogen which include estrone, estriol and estradiol. Estrone is 10 to 20% of the circulating estrogen, estradiol proportion is also between 10 to 20% while estriol proportion is between 60 to 80% of the estrogen.

For different women the estradiol amount within the bloodstream varies during the menstrual cycle. After menopause estrogen drop also includes reduction in the production of estradiol. The level of estradiol drops to a low level but remains more or less constant. Estrogen also has some other important functions as providing enough tension to the skin and stabilizing the bones and making them stronger. This protects women against arteriosclerosis. With menopause estrogen lowers and this results in the skin losing its moisture and elasticity. Likewise women are prone to experiencing heart problems

In menopause estrogen reduction also results in changes in vagina such as dryness and there is a marked reduction in sexual desire. Many women may also experience considerable pain during intercourse after menopause. Likewise vaginal bleeding may also be observed along with the possibility of having urinary infections. During menopause estrogen levels drop and this also increases the possibility of osteoporosis in women. As estrogen levels drop this also gives rise to certain psychological changes in women such as depression, problems in concentrating, irritability and sleeplessness.

In recent times during menopause estrogen replacement therapy has been followed to treat symptoms of menopause. Primarily in menopause estrogen replacement therapy is aimed to provide protection to the heart and prevent problems of osteoporosis. It has also been used for prostate cancer treatment and primary ovarian failure.