This volume addresses important issues in contemporary endocrinology. Its main emphasis is on the consequences of the menopause and on androgen deficiency in the absence of overt disease of the hypothalamus and/or pituitary in men. The use of hormone therapy for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women has become an area of major debate, and the pros and cons are examined in detail. Secondary prevention also remains controversial and is addressed in this volume. An issue of particular concern is the treatment of oestrogen deficiency symptoms in women with the diagnosis of breast cancer. Whether older men with some androgen deficiency symptoms and equivocally low plasma testosterone concentrations should be treated with androgens is also a matter of great debate, as is the efficacy and safety of plant oestrogens in the treatment of menopause-related complaints.
