The end of menopause: would women be healthier and happier if they menstruated for ever?
In July, a team at Columbia University announced some preliminary results in their quest to prolong ovarian life, using a well-established, cheap off-patent drug called rapamycin. Traditionally used as an immunosuppressant for organ transplant patients, the drug slows the natural loss of eggs from the ovaries and has been shown to increase ovarian life in mice. After the first three months of clinical trials using a low weekly dose on 34 women of up to 35 (1,000 will take part eventually), the team has reported that there appear to be positive changes in some of the participants. It is a blind study so the researchers can’t say at this stage whether or not these women are in the placebo group, but they have felt positive enough to say publicly that the results are “very, very exciting”.
The scientists estimate that the drug could slow ovarian ageing by about 20%, which might neatly delay menopause sufficiently to reflect our increased lifespan these days. “The onset of menopause has profound socioeconomic, quality of life and health implications,” reads the description for the clinical trial. “The narrow reproductive window adds socioeconomic pressure on women to complete childbearing within a limited timeframe, or preserve their fertility with egg or embryo freezing.”