In the early 2000s, hormonal treatments for menopause fell out of favor, but they appear to be rebounding with a notable focus.

People think of hormonal treatments as replacing diminished levels of estrogen, but in premenopausal women, there’s actually more testosterone than estrogen.

Like estrogen, testosterone levels fall over time too and, after menopause, the lower levels contribute to a loss of bone density and energy. Some doctors are prescribing testosterone to treat these symptoms of menopause, though the FDA has not approved a product for this use, in large part because there isn’t a lot of supporting research data yet.