Campaigners have long called for a wider range of treatments for women suffering from the grueling symptoms of menopause – hot flashes, brain fog and debilitating fatigue.
Although replacing lost sex hormones with hormone replacement therapy is effective for some, it does not relieve all symptoms.
But what if you could delay – or even prevent – the hormonal change?
A team of New York scientists says this astonishing reality is possible and is working to make an “anti-menopause vaccine” available to all American women.
The drug is still in the animal testing phase and it will take several years before it is available. It is currently being tested for safety in animals (stock image)
The injection, which could be given every few months, mimics the action of a hormone called anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), which is involved in ovulation and begins to decline when a woman reaches the age of 25 years.
When women reach the age of menopause, usually between the ages of 45 and 55, they experience a sharp decline in the reproductive hormones needed for pregnancy, including estrogen, progesterone, and AMH.
But researchers at biotech company Oviva Theraputics suggest that injecting women with AMH every few months could artificially increase levels of the hormone AMH, which could delay the change – perhaps indefinitely.
Scientists have not commented on the risks of the injection, but regular HRT has been shown to increase the risk of breast and endometrial cancer.
Dr Daisy Robinton, a molecular biologist at Oviva Therapeutics behind the development, told DailyMail.com: “This drug might not just delay menopause, it might actually prevent it. »
The graph above, from a study published in 2014, shows average AMH hormone levels in women relative to their age. It reveals that the hormone increases until the age of 25 and then begins to decline, with menopause reaching on average around age 52. Scientists believe that artificially increasing these levels can stop menopause
Studies already show that women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or enlarged ovaries have lower levels of AMH. two to three times higher than normal – enter menopause approximately two years later than those who do not suffer from this disease.
AMH is produced in the ovaries by follicles and gradually decreases over time as the ovaries deteriorate with age.
The decline of the ovaries is linked to a gradual decrease of the number of follicles in organs that contain developing eggs.
Dr. Daisy Robinton, a molecular biologist at Oviva Therapeutics, revealed the drug at the Livelong Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Each cycle, a woman loses around 1,000 follicles, either through ovulation, during which eggs are released, or through natural cell death.
But scientists have found that when a woman has higher AMH levels, this loss can be slowed.
This is because the hormone reduces the number of follicles that are recruited, and eventually lost, with each cycle.
The drug is currently being tested in mice to demonstrate that it is safe to use, with results expected in the coming months.
If successful, human trials could be carried out in the coming years.
Menopause is a biological change that all women experience. It usually begins in the late 40s and early 50s, when the ovaries stop releasing eggs for fertilization and periods stop.
This is due to the drop in estrogen and progesterone. AMH also decreases significantly.
AMH levels are already tested to predict when a woman might go through menopause and diagnose PCOS.
But it’s not clear whether drops in AMH – which are produced in the ovaries – are simply a correlation with menopause or if they are actually causing the change.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that menopause is caused by loss of ovarian function, as well as a drop in estrogen levels.
Postmenopausal women are already offered hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to increase estrogen and progesterone levels, but this does not delay ovarian dysfunction: it treats symptoms by increasing hormone levels.
HRT prescriptions for menopausal women have soared in recent years, with 11 million products distributed to help treat symptoms in 2022/23.
Currently, women are offered treatments to help them through the menopause, such as HRT (pictured).
Dr. Robinton presented his discovery to a packed conference room at the Livelong Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, attended by more than a thousand doctors and members of the public, including DailyMail.com.
She told the audience: “The ovaries age 2.5 times faster than the rest of the body and between the ages of 35 and 50 they experience rapid decline.
“At the age of 52, menopause begins and the loss of the ovaries leads to the decline of the rest of the body.
“The hormone AMH controls the time until menopause and actually acts as a brake in women.
“We could use AMH to slow the loss of ovarian reserve (number of eggs in the ovaries) and extend the track to menopause.”
By lag, Dr. Robinton was referring to the time a woman has before menopause.
Researchers don’t yet know exactly how much the treatment will cost, but due to the high sums involved in the research, prices could easily reach six figures initially.
This comes despite a major report calling for menopause to stop being treated pharmacologically and be seen more as part of the natural aging process.
The team of researchers wrote in the Lancet that a new approach was needed, based on “health empowerment” – where women gain the knowledge, confidence and self-determination to manage their own health. health.
“While symptom management is important,” the team wrote, “a medicalized view of menopause can be disempowering for women, leading to overtreatment and neglecting potential positive effects, such as improved mental health. with age and absence of menstruation, menstrual disorders”. and contraception.
The menopause treatment market is currently valued at $16.9 billion, but it is expected to grow 5% each year until 2030, when it will reach $24.4 billion.
Others are also working on technology to delay menopause, including scientists at Columbia University, who are testing whether rapamycin – a compound from Easter Island soil bacteria known for its anti-aging properties – could delay the aging of the ovaries and, by extension, menopause.
The trial involves 50 healthy women aged 38 to 45 who have regular periods but do not want to conceive. They either take weekly doses of rapamycin or a placebo.
Rapamycin is thought to help inhibit chromosome decline, which is linked to cell aging.
Dr Zev Williams, head of reproductive endocrinology at Columbia University who is leading the study, said: “Many of us think that menopause is a given and just a part of life. .
“The truth is that, in the entire animal kingdom, menopause is by far a very, very rare exception.”