Book excerpt: 'Fast Facts: Menopause' is a concise handbook designed to provide an overview of menopausal and postmenopausal health issues and their management. Although effective therapies for symptoms are available, controversies surrounding some of the available treatments have made potential users wary. In the second edition of this succinct and practical text, two eminent specialists review, in detail, the causes and consequences of menopausal symptoms, and the options available to women today. The text is evidence-based, drawing on the results of the most recent research to provide general practitioners, specialist nurses, gynaecologists and other healthcare professionals with an increased understanding of the physiological and psychological effects of the menopause and to contribute to more effective management. Contents: • Stages, effects and implications • Vasomotor function • Osteoporosis • Urogenital changes • Neurological symptoms • Sexuality • Symptom management • Types of hormone therapy • Side effects of hormone therapy • Endometrial bleeding with hormone therapy • Risks of hormone therapy • Tibolone • Alternatives to hormone therapy.