Menopause expert can discuss newly FDA-approved non-hormonal hot-flash drug

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Menopause expert can discuss newly FDA-approved non-hormonal hot-flash drug

'Hot flashes are not harmless'

• Hot flashes are linked to insomnia, heart disease, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, bone loss
• Newly approved drug decreases hot flashes by an average of 67%
• Elinzanetant 'comes out ahead' of other FDA-approved non-hormonal drugs in sleep and quality-of-life parameters

CHICAGO --- Northwestern University menopause expert Dr. Lauren Streicher was sitting in a ballroom of 2,000 fellow menopause experts during the annual Menopause Society Meeting when they collectively learned elinzanetant, a new non-hormonal hot-flash drug, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The room erupted into enthusiastic applause, she said.

"An outsider would have thought we had all won a free trip to Paris instead of receiving news that a new non-hormonal drug to treat hot flashes was now available. Welcome to my world," said Streicher, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Streicher is available for interviews with the media. Contact Kristin Samuelson at [email protected] to schedule an interview.

"Hot flashes are not harmless," Streicher wrote in a new blog post on the topic. "Persistent moderate to severe hot flashes are associated with insomnia, cardiovascular disease, weight gain, sexual dysfunction and bone loss."

The FDA had already approved two other non-hormonal drugs to treat menopausal hot flashes, but "where elinzanetant comes out ahead is in sleep and quality-of-life parameters," Streicher said.

"Elinzanetant is a non-hormonal drug that fools your malfunctioning internal thermostat into thinking that estrogen levels are high, regulating your internal temperature and decreasing hot flashes by an average of 67%," Streicher wrote. "Elinzanetant also helps alleviate insomnia, improves quality of life and potentially enhances mood."

In contrast, estrogen (a hormonal treatment) decreases hot flashes, on average, by 75%. However less than 5% of women use hormone therapy to treat their hot flashes. Elizanetant is appropriate for women with moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (also known as hot flashes) who choose not to or can't take estrogen, Streicher said.

"Most women think hot flashes are short-lived, and they are not aware that hot flashes are associated with long-term medical problems," Streicher said. "They also think the estrogen will cause breast or other cancers. The main reason they do not take estrogen is that they do not see a doctor for their menopause symptoms, and if they do, most doctors are not comfortable prescribing estrogen."