Plasma adenosine levels in peri-menopausal women having frequent hot flushes

Background The effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on plasma adenosine levels was investigated in climacteric women experiencing hot flushes. Methods and Results Plasma adenosine levels were measured in 13 peri-menopausal women with frequent hot flushes (> 5 per day) before and 3-4 months after initiating HRT. Thirteen healthy pre-menopausal, 9 perimenopausal women with few hot flushes (< 1 or 2 per day) and 10 healthy postmenopausal women were enrolled as controls. The average plasma adenosine level in the peri-menopausal women was 0.20 +/- 0.09 mu mol/L, which was significantly higher than in the pre-menopausal (0.12 +/- 0.07 mu mol/L, p < 0.05), peri-menopausal with few hot flushes (0.10 +/- 0.09 mu mol/L, p < 0.05) and postmenopausal women (0.13 +/- 0.06 mu mol/L, p < 0.05). Both the increased adenosine level and the hot flushes were decreased by HRT (plasma adenosine: 0.13 0.06 mu mol/L). Conclusions Increased plasma adenosine in peri-menopausal women may be associated with frequent hot flushes.