By Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer
Dr. James Simon became interested in ageing and fertility because these days there are new technologies that prolong fertility. - CONTRIBUTED
Rising to a new challenge
AFTER AN illustrious career as an obstetrician/gynaecologist and reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. James Simon is ready to take on the challenge of president of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) for 2004-2005. The 53-year-old father of three daughters is based at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
The Gleaner spoke with Dr. Simon at the 15th annual NAMS conference, held at Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.
He said that he became interested in menopause treatment because, unlike other members of the animal kingdom, human beings do not discard their mates when they have come to the end of their reproductive years.
"Women live many years after the ability to reproduce and even though there is an incredible focus on being young as the paradigm of being sexy, men don't throw their menopausal mates to the lions but are hopeful they will remain healthy and alive. So, with that focus, I became interested in how to keep those mating pairs together," he said.
He further stated that he became interested in ageing and fertility because these days there are new technologies that prolong fertility. It became apparent to him that in Washington, D.C., many career women got married later and reproduced later and, being older, that process was not always easy.
"Ovarian ageing and reproduction in older women are just a step before menopause, so the transition to menopause management from OB/GYN was easy for me," he said.
OLD EGGS
The Gleaner asked whether a woman's eggs could be described as old and if sperm also aged.
Dr. Simon explained that female eggs are developed before birth, whereas sperm is produced daily. Therefore, even if a man is 100, his sperm could be just 90 days old.
RESEARCH AND THE MEDIA
Is there anything that he considers urgent and important by way of research that could help menopausal women?
"Besides funding, we need to get a better perspective and understanding of the things we already know. The media frequently makes bad things worse and good things better than they usually are. Some complicated issues don't lend themselves to sensational headlines and readers may take away a different perspective from what results show."
This was in reference to the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study which scared many women off oestrogen use.
Dr. Simon said the reports made it appear that no one should use hormones for any reason at all. "Many women suffered unnecessarily because they feared they would die of heart attacks and strokes after taking short-term treatment for hot flashes. I think that the benefits of treating and preventing osteoporosis (which increases with menopause) have been emphasised to such a degree, that some patients have been over-treated. On the other hand, some are too poor to afford treatment," he noted.
WOMEN OF COLOUR
Dr. Simon also noted that another problem in treating menopause comes from the mistaken belief by some women of colour in America that they never get osteoporosis.
He added that he would like menopause to be demystified to the extent where it no longer elicits embarrassed chuckles or brusque dismissal from men. One of the myths, he added, is that women become asexual after menopause.
