TREATMENT OF THE MENOPAUSE

Although clinicians generally are convinced of the value of estrogenic substances for the relief of the protean symptoms of the climacteric period in women, there is much uncertainty about the optimal preparation. The choice must be made among three distinct estrogenic compounds and mixtures of these with other less potent substances. Unstandardized preparations of ovary may give clinical results, but the benefits are too uncertain to justify the employment of these early types of medication any longer. The choice between pure compounds such as estrone or estradiol and mixtures in which estrone is the chief ingredient depends on two factors: price and type of result. Except in rare cases the clinical result from any one of this estrogenic group has been found so similar to that of the others that the only important factor is price. But direct comparisons in cost have been impossible for the clinician, since the units