This issue marks the end of the year 2007.

For me, as Editor of the Berita Menopos, compiling useful and interesting information for you members of the Malaysian Menopause Society (MMS) has been enriching for me.

The Editorial Committee is open to constructive comments from members, and truly appreciates such efforts to assist us to improve on our newsletter. However, we have yet to receive your contributions in this direction. I will be interested to know what you have to say – that is the sole purpose of placing my fax number and e-mail address in the newsletter for your easy access.

Menopause medicine is still advancing by leaps and bounds. By the number of recent research studies & their reports that get into my web-site through various linkages, I find this to be true. Thus, those of us who wish to manage menopausal women should be really up to date with our information.

Since the adverse comments about HRT from the WHI study report and from the Million Women Study report, there has been a surge to look for alternatives for the management of problems faced by peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women. Generally, women are still very anxious about the risks of ERT / HRT.

The role of traditional Chinese medicine and herbal options is beginning to dominate significantly in the scientific literature. We, in Malaysia, should be happy to note that such options are available right at our doorsteps, and we should eagerly await the results of these studies.

Not much has been said about counselling of the post-menopausal woman.
This is an important aspect of menopausal management. It is felt that doctors, who have no time to counsel such women, should really not be involved in their management. The time will come when more specialized menopause clinics or centres are available in Malaysia, whence patients will begin to realize they will get better quality care in such clinics / centres. The ordinary gynaecologist may not be the ideal doctor to help such women.

We look forward to a brighter future for menopausal women.
 
  
Dr Hean-Choon Ong,
Editor