CNN – An experimental once-a-day pill that works without hormones significantly reduced the number of hot flashes experienced by women going through menopause and improved their sleep compared to a placebo, according to two new trials from drugmaker Bayer.
The drug, called elinzanetant, works by blocking the brain chemicals responsible for hot flashes and night sweats – what doctors call vasomotor symptoms – in women whose ovaries have slowed production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
This marks a phase of life for women called menopause, which usually happens sometimes in a woman’s 40s or 50s.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved a similar drug called fezolinetant, sold as Veozah, last year.
Such drugs are new options for women during a phase in their lives when their bodies are adjusting to a new hormonal normal. This transition can bring on a wide variety of symptoms including mood swings, brain fog, libido changes and insomnia.
For some women, the symptoms are bothersome but don’t interfere with daily functioning. For others, though, they can be debilitating, and many doctors are reluctant to offer the traditional treatment, hormone replacement therapy, for fear it could increase the risks of stroke, cancer and heart disease.
“Very few women get any sort of help,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, who is director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health.
At the height of its use in the 1990s, some 40% of postmenopausal women were taking hormone replacement therapy, or HRT …
