Prevalence of Hot Flushes and Night Sweats in UK women 54-65
In a new, large (over 10 000 women) survey of UK women aged 54-65, Myra Hunter and colleagues reported on the proportion of women who have hot flushes and night sweats (HF/NS), and on how frequent and bothersome they found them. Surprisingly, they did not find a difference across ages; 54% of women reported that they currently experienced hot flushes and/or night sweats, and this was as true for women in their mid-60’s as in their mid-50’s. Current users of hormone therapy were less likely to have current HF/NS, while those who had discontinued hormone therapy were more likely to have HF/NS compared with never users. It is common to think that HF/NS last for 2-5 years in a woman’s early 50’s. This study suggests that there is a need for therapies that are effective and can be used safely for a much longer duration.
FDA says no to Pristiq for (Post)Menopausal Hot Flushes
In early September, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) turned down Pfizer’s request to market it’s antidepressant drug, Pristiq, as a treatment for hot flushes in menopausal women. Pfizer inherited Pristiq when it acquired Wyeth (makers of the hormone therapy medication PremPro). This is the first anti-depressant to seek official approval for this indication, although there has been research and promotion of antidepressants as alternative, non-hormonal, off-label medications for vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats) for some time.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there has been little coverage of this in the media, as contrasted with the coverage of the various steps towards this point.
I have noticed that when a drug therapy is approved or takes a step along the path towards approval, news coverage is general and widespread. When there is a hitch in the approval process, often only the financial markets pick up the story, because it affects share values. However, there is an article in Medscape that provides more background on the history of this application.
