In May, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new oral medication called fezolinetant for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms caused by menopause.. That is, to treat the famous hot flashes that affect up to 80% of women and that can be frequent and severe in 25% of them.. As a curiosity, this drug has a Spanish seal, since phase three of the investigation has been carried out in our country. This is, without a doubt, very good news in every way.
Let's start at the beginning, what are hot flashes?
A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat that can appear in the upper part of the body or even throughout the body.. Red patches may appear on the face, neck, chest, back, and arms, sometimes followed by heavy sweating and chills. Hot flashes can be very mild but also strong enough to wake the woman up (these are called night sweats).. Most of the episodes usually last between 30 seconds and 10 minutes and “the funny thing” is that they can appear when you least expect it: from several times an hour, a few times a day or just once or twice a week.
Why do hot flashes appear?
During the menopausal transition, the ovaries begin to function less and less effectively.. Let's just say that the “factory” of hormones (estrogen and progesterone) no longer works as happily and this could be the cause not only of the hot flashes, but also of other menopausal symptoms.. So far hormone therapy, which stabilizes the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body, has proven to be a very effective treatment for hot flashes in women.. The problem is that there are some women who cannot use this therapy.. For example, it is contraindicated in women who have had breast tumors because it could facilitate excessive growth of breast cells.. On the other hand, some women are still reluctant to this treatment today.. Specifically for these two groups of women, the new drug could become a good alternative.
How does the new hot flash drug work?
As one of the study researchers, Dr.. Santiago Palacios, this drug works in a similar way to hormones, but in another way. To explain it in a simple way, we could say that hot flashes are caused because a receptor is activated and the hormones “turn off” that switch.. If there are not enough hormones the switch does not turn off. This new drug is capable of flipping the same switch, but it manages to do it in a very different way.. It's like hormones flip the switch with their finger and this new drug turns it off with their elbow. In any case, the important thing is that the switch is turned off and the hot flashes do not appear.
Is it more or less effective than hormone therapy?
In principle, the efficacy of fezolinetant does not reach that of hormonal treatment, but it is important to know that it is superior to that of other treatments that have not proven to be as effective as some antidepressant drugs or the famous phytoestrogens.
Does it have side effects?
Like any drug, fezolinetant has side effects, although they are mainly mild, such as headache, nausea, and dizziness.
Is it already on the market?
No, at the moment the drug has only been approved in the United States. However, it is foreseeable that it can begin to be marketed in Europe soon.. Goodbye to hot flashes is finally one step closer for many women.