Adverse effects
Also called side effects, this refers to what symptoms may occur from taking a medication.

Alternative medicine
Practices not generally recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches.

Benign
Of no danger to health.

Bio-identical
Structurally identical to the substance as it naturally occurs in your body. Most bio-identical estrogens and progesterone come from soy (estrogen) or yams (progesterone).

Biphosphonates
A group of drugs used to treat osteoporosis and the bone pain caused by some types of cancer.

Botanicals
A drug, medicinal preparation, or similar substance obtained from a plant or plants. Botanicals that have been used for menopause symptoms include black cohosh, dong quai, ginseng, kava, red clover and soy.

Cardiovascular disease
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Clinical trial
An organized research program conducted with patients to evaluate new medical treatments, drugs or devices.

Combined hormone therapy
Estrogen combined with progestogen.

Complementary therapy
Practices not generally recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches and used to enhance or complement standard treatments. Complementary medicine includes dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal preparations and teas, acupuncture, massage therapy, meditation, and more.

Conjugated equine estrogens
Estrogen compounds produced from the urine of pregnant mares. Brand name is Premarin.

Continuous combined hormone therapy
A dose of estrogen and a dose of progestogen taken daily.

Cyclic hormone therapy
Continuous treatment with estrogen combined with a progestogen for 10–14 days of the month.

Dosage
How much of a drug to give and how often.

Estrogen
A hormone produced primarily by the ovaries until menopause that is necessary for normal menstrual function.

Heart disease
A condition that affects the heart muscle or the blood vessels of the heart.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
HRT is a combination of estrogen and progesterone to restore estrogen after menopause. Also called hormone therapy (HT) and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). Therapy using estrogen alone is referred to as estrogen replacement therapy (ERT).

Hormone
A chemical produced by glands in the body. Hormones control the actions of certain cells or organs.

Hot flashes
A sudden wave of mild or intense body heat caused by rushes of hormonal changes resulting from decreased levels of estrogen. Hot flashes can occur at any time and may last from a few seconds to a half-hour. They are due to blood vessel opening and constricting and a symptom of menopause.

Hypertensive
Having abnormally high blood pressure.

Hysterectomy
Surgical removal of the uterus.

Incontinence
Loss of bladder and/or bowel control.

Indications
Also called uses, this refers to what the drug has been approved to treat. This also includes the group of people, such as adults, children, men or women, who can use the medication.

Induced menopause
Menopause that occurs when the ovaries are surgically removed. Can also result from damage to the ovaries caused by radiation or by medications used in chemotherapy.

Mechanism of action
How a medication works in the body.

Menstrual cycle
The monthly cycle of hormonal changes from the beginning of one menstrual period to the beginning of the next.

Menstruation
The periodic shedding of the uterine lining.

Observational study
A type of study in which individuals are observed or certain outcomes are measured. No attempt is made to affect the outcome (for example, no treatment is given).

Off-label
When a drug or medical device is used to treat a disease or condition not listed on its label, or used in such a way that's not outlined in the label.

Osteoporosis
In women, osteoporosis (bone loss) results from low estrogen levels. Estrogen, which diminishes during menopause, helps protect against bone loss. After menopause, a woman's bones slowly lose density and strength and become more fragile. As a result, older women are more likely to fracture bones. Hormone therapy can help slow bone loss after menopause, and regular exercise also can help.

Ovary
One of usually two organs that produce ova (eggs) and secrete estrogen and progesterone.

Ovum
Egg released by the ovary.

Perimenopause
The phase starting when periods become irregular and lasting until a year after the last period.

Phytoestrogens
Estrogen-like substances from plant sources that work like a weak form of estrogen.

Postmenopausal
After the menopause. Postmenopausal is defined formally as the time after which a woman has experienced twelve (12) consecutive months of amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) without a period.

Progesterone/Progestin
Two terms often used interchangeably. Progesterone is a hormone produced by the ovaries until menopause; it is important in controlling the growth of cells lining the uterus. Progestin is a synthetic form of progesterone.

Progestin
See Progesterone/Progestin.

Randomized study
A study in which the participants are assigned by chance to separate groups that compare different treatments; neither the researchers nor the participants can choose which group. Using chance to assign people to groups means that the groups will be similar and that the treatments they receive can be compared objectively. At the time of the trial, it is not known which treatment is best. It is the patient's choice to be in a randomized trial.

Side effects
Problems that occur when treatment goes beyond the desired effect. Or problems that occur in addition to the desired therapeutic effect.

Testosterone
A steroid hormone that belongs to a class of male hormones called androgens. It is produced by the testes in large quantities in men and is the main sex hormone in men as well as playing a role in immune function and libido. It also occurs normally in smaller quantities in women.

Unopposed estrogen
Estrogen taken without an accompanying progestogen.

Urinary tract infection (UTI)
A condition that occurs when bacteria from outside the body gets into the urinary tract and causes infection and inflammation.

Uses
Also called indications, this refers to what the drug has been approved to treat. This also includes the group of people, such as adults, children, men or women, who can use the medication.

Uterus
The small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis. This is the organ in which a fetus develops.

Vagina
The tube that joins the cervix (the lower part of uterus, or womb) to the outside of the body. It is also known as the birth canal.

Vaginal dryness
Inadequate lubrication of the vagina that can be caused by low estrogen levels, medication or lack of sexual arousal.

Vaginal lubricant
A moisturizing product used to treat vaginal dryness.