{"id":324268,"date":"2026-03-11T14:18:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/324268\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T14:18:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:18:07","slug":"nhs-will-offer-non-hormonal-hot-flush-treatment-to-menopausal-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/324268\/","title":{"rendered":"NHS will offer non-hormonal hot flush treatment to menopausal women"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first non-hormonal daily tablet that prevents menopause hot flushes will be made available to half a million women on the NHS.<\/p>\n

Nice, the health watchdog, has approved the introduction of fezolinetant on the NHS for night sweats or hot flushes, which affect about three quarters of women going through the menopause.<\/p>\n

At present, the only drug treatment for menopause symptoms is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which is not suitable for women with certain medical conditions such as blood clots, or those who have had certain types of cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fezolinetant, manufactured under the brand name Veoza by Japan\u2019s Astellas Pharma, is the first in a new class of menopause treatment that works by blocking the nerve pathways in the brain that trigger hot flushes and night sweats.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nice said fezolinetant can meaningfully reduce symptoms, and that making the treatment available through the NHS will offer \u201cmuch-needed relief to those for whom HRT is unsuitable\u201d. The health spending watchdog added that women would need regular liver function monitoring while taking the treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that menopausal hot flushes and night sweats can have a profound impact on quality of life and significantly affect overall wellbeing,\u201d Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at Nice, said. \u201cFor those unable to take HRT for varying reasons, options have historically been limited, and we have heard clearly from patients how difficult that can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence shows fezolinetant can meaningfully reduce symptoms and was found to be cost-effective, offering value for the taxpayer. This decision will give much-needed relief to those for whom HRT is unsuitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 The app for GPs promising to revolutionise menopause care<\/a><\/p>\n

A trial of fezolinetant showed that after 12 weeks of treatment, women with moderate or severe symptoms experienced the number hot flushes dropping by about 60 per cent, compared with 45 per cent for those taking a placebo. They also reported hot flushes becoming less severe, as well as improved sleep quality.<\/p>\n

Sue Mann, national clinical director in women\u2019s health at NHS England, said: \u201cSymptoms of menopause, including hot flushes and night sweats, can affect every part of a woman\u2019s life, so this is very welcome news \u2014 especially for women who are unable to or don\u2019t wish to take HRT.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s another vital treatment option that could help hundreds of thousands of women experiencing menopause to better manage their symptoms and feel more in control of their health.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 13 million women in the UK are menopausal or perimenopausal (when periods stop due to lower hormone levels). It usually occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. HRT is taken by 2.8 million women in the UK<\/a> and can replace the oestrogen that declines during the menopause.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first non-hormonal daily tablet that prevents menopause hot flushes will be made available to half a million…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-324268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}