Midlife disorders.

The midlife adult is special. While all are stepping into this new phase of life, age affects each individual differently. There are many other factors that impact aging in a human and sex is one such factor. Males show the signs of aging a little later while women who become menopausal are impacted majorly by such changes even at a younger age. The spectrum of disease is different in women when compared with men. This edition of the journal contains a variety of articles on different aspects of disease. The role of oxidative stress and its impact on menopause has been extensively reviewed by Doshi et al.[1] Two articles have tried to highlight the variations in perception of disease by different individuals from different regions – one relates to menopause itself while the other talks about hypoglycemia.[23] The original articles emphasize the importance of conditions that are common yet troublesome at mid age– essential hypertension and urogynecological states![45] There are many therapies for hypertension, this combination may be just one of them but the advantage is that of fixed dose in addition to its efficacy. Taking multiple pills at different times is very difficult for the aged due to forgetfulness. Hence, minimizing medication should be an essential part of every prescription for the geriatric population. Urogynecological disorders in women have come out of their shroud recently. Most of the women have shied away from the health-care provider in such situations and have never been able to express their symptoms very well. This article brings[5] out the importance of urodynamic studies in addition to history and examination in order to decide the final treatment of the woman.

Unusual case reports as the ones in this edition[67] are important for all to read in order to diagnose such rarities if they confront us.

It has been our endeavor to put together a variety of clinical conditions that are commonly or uncommonly seen at this age in order to acquaint the reader with the many shades of midlife.