A woman typically experiences menopause around the age of 50 but did you know that some women go through what is known as early menopause?
Menopause is when a woman’s period stops due to lower hormone levels. It can cause a variety of symptoms such as anxiety, mood swings, brain fog and hot flushes.
Early menopause typically refers to when a woman’s periods stop before the age of 45 which can happen naturally but also as a side effect of medical treatments.
Natural early menopause is thought to affect around 5% of the female population before they reach 45 years old and 1% of women under 40.
The main symptom of early menopause is experiencing irregular periods or periods stopping altogether. Women may also experience other symptoms during premature menopause such as hot flushes, night sweats and low mood.
For 90% of women who experience premature menopause, the cause will be unknown. For others though it could be caused by chromosome abnormalities, such as Turner syndrome, an autoimmune disease, or certain infections such as tuberculosis. It can also be hereditary and run in families.
Early menopause can also be caused by treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Symptoms such as hot flushes can also continue after menopause, and whilst there are few good treatment options currently available such as HRT, which is effective but may have unwelcome side effects, current non-hormonal options often provide unsatisfactory symptom relief therefore there is a need to find new, improved treatments that may provide relief for women with post-menopausal symptoms. MAC Clinical Research in Manchester and Lancashire is currently recruiting for a new clinical trial for an investigational non-hormonal medication that might help relieve hot flushes post menopause.
The trial will involve 12 on-site visits in total plus 2 remote calls over 62 weeks to our Blackpool or Manchester clinics and if eligible, you will receive up to a max of £910 for your time and commitment plus up to £400 travel expenses per visit.
You must:
- Aged 40-65
- Have a BMI between 18 and 38
- Experiencing moderate to severe hot flushes and seeking treatment for them
- Other eligibility criteria will apply.
For more information, visit MAC’s website here.
