2. Climacteric. 2005 Jun;8(2):110-23.  Estrogens and the skin.  Brincat MP, Baron YM, Galea R.  Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Malta Medical School, St.  Luke's Hospial, Guardamangia, Malta. 

 OBJECTIVE: A review of the medical literature concerning the effect of the menopause and its hormonal treatment on the skin. METHODS: An extensive Medline and Pubmed internet search utilizing the key words: collagen, elastin, estrogen, hormone replacement therapy, skin and aging. RESULTS: The literature review demonstrated a wide array of research ranging from basic science work to clinical implications of the effects of the menopause and its treatment on the skin. CONCLUSION: Estrogen loss at menopause has a profound influence on skin. Estrogen treatment in postmenopausal women has been repeatedly shown to increase collagen  content, dermal thickness and elasticity, and data on the effect of estrogen on skin water content are also promising. Further, physiologic studies on estrogen and wound healing suggest that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may play a beneficial role in cutaneous injury repair. Results on the effect of HRT on other physiologic characteristics of skin, such as elastin content, sebaceous secretions, wrinkling and blood flow, are discordant. Given the responsiveness of skin to estrogen, the effects of HRT on aging skin require further examination, and careful molecular studies will likely clarify estrogen's effects at the cellular level.  PMID: 16096167  [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 

1. Climacteric. 2001 Jun;4(2):144-50.  Effects of wild yam extract on menopausal symptoms, lipids and sex hormones in healthy menopausal women.  Komesaroff PA, Black CV, Cable V, Sudhir K.  Baker Medical Research Institute, PO Box 6492, St Kilda Central, Melbourne 8008,  Victoria, Australia. 

 OBJECTIVES: Many women seek alternatives to hormonal therapies for the management of menopausal symptoms. Among the treatments currently popular are extracts of wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), which are applied topically in the form of a cream. These preparations are known to contain steroidal saponins, including diosgenin,  which has been claimed to influence endogenous steroidogenesis. However, there have been no studies of the safety or efficacy of these preparations in the management of menopausal symptoms. METHODS: We therefore conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of the effects of a wild yam cream in 23 healthy women suffering from troublesome symptoms of the menopause. After a 4-week baseline period, each woman was given active cream and matching placebo for 3 months in random order. Diaries were completed over the baseline period and for 1 week each month thereafter, and blood and saliva samples were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 months, for measurement of lipids and hormones. RESULTS: The average age of the subjects was 53.3 +/- 1.1 (SEM) years and average time since last period 4.3 +/- 0.9 years. At baseline, the average body mass index was 27.3 +/- 0.8, cholesterol level 5.7 +/- 0.2 mmol/l and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level 74.2 +/- 5.1 IU/l; estradiol levels were undetectable in the majority of cases. After 3 months of treatment, no significant side-effects were reported with either active treatment or placebo, and there were no changes in weight, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or levels of total serum cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, FSH, glucose, estradiol, or serum or salivary progesterone. Symptom  scores showed a minor effect of both placebo and active treatment on diurnal flushing number and severity and total non-flushing symptom scores, and on nocturnal sweating after placebo, but no statistical difference between placebo and active creams. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that short-term treatment with topical wild yam  extract in women suffering from menopausal symptoms is free of side-effects, but  appears to have little effect on menopausal symptoms. It emphasizes the importance of careful study of treatments for menopausal symptoms if women are to be adequately informed about the choices available to them.  PMID: 11428178  [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]   

Advanced skin care research has shown that short term treatment with wild yam diosgenin, a natural plant estrogen, in women suffering from menopausal symptoms is free of side-effects, but  appears to have little effect on menopausal symptoms.