Postmenopausal Disorder

The aim of this study is to compare the short-term and long-term effects of an 8-week home-based multimodal exercise program, delivered through a smartphone app, on quality of life, muscle function, and physical performance in early postmenopausal women.

Women over the age of 60 years have an estimated 10 to 15 % risk of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI). This is believed to be due to hormonally induced changes in the vaginal flora associated with menopause. After menopause, there is a chemical changes in the vagina that may predispose to bacterial infections. The role of vaginal estrogen creams to restore vaginal atrophy and prevent urinary tract infections has been well characterized. Vaginal testosterone (VT) application use in postmenopausal breast cancer patients on aromatase inhibitors have been shown to improve vaginal pH, vaginal atrophy symptom scores, dyspareunia, and vaginal dryness. Although testosterone has been used to improve sexual function in postmenopausal women, the effects of VT on vaginal flora and recurrent UTIs are unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine whether topically applied vaginal testosterone cream is more effective than placebo in reducing the incidence of urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women with recurrent urinary tract infections and to ascertain the effects of topical estrogen on the vaginal pH and flora.

The investigators plan to conduct a pilot 4-arm, randomized study comprising the following interventions: muscle strengthening exercises (MSE) alone, estrogen therapy (ET) alone, and a combination of MSE and ET, compared to usual care in women with menopausal arthralgia. The aim of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility, patient acceptability, and patient perspectives and logistics of delivering interventions, and practicability of outcome assessment tools in this 4-arm study over a 12-week period.

Existing data points to relevant beneficial effects of respiratory exercises on cardiovascular health, with special regards to decreases on arterial pressure and improves on autonomic and vascular profiles, though mechanistics of such results have not yet been cleared. Among the available ways to perform respiratory exercises, there is the highly recommended Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) and slow breathing exercises like Yoga pranayamas. Lately, the development of new technologies has allowed the use of Apps to perform respiratory exercises. This study will be take the just developed CardioBreath®App to validate it as a tool to perform respiratory exercises. Therefore, it will be compared to IMT on cardiac vagal modulation and pulse wave velocity on normotensive post menopause women.