Endocrine Abstracts

Seventy percent of menopausal women experience vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and/or night sweats), and 10% will describe them as intolerable, but many will have a contraindication and/or aversion to hormone replacement therapy which is the most effective treatment. Therefore, for those women current treatment options are limited and include herbal remedies, centrally acting modulators of neurotransmitter concentrations (eg SSRIs/SNRIs), clonidine, and cognitive behavioural therapy. However, oral neurokinin 3 receptor antagonists should be available in the near future and could revolutionise management by offering an effective therapeutic for menopausal vasomotor symptoms that does not require oestrogen exposure. In view of the recent media coverage regarding testosterone for menopausal symptoms, this will also be discussed as will the use of vaginal oestrogen for local vaginal symptoms.