NEW DRUG TO TREAT UTERINE FIBROIDS

I recently stumbled upon an article that claims that there is a new drug/pill in clinical trials that offers hope to millions of women with uterine fibroids.  It is in fact a lower dose of the the ‘morning after’ contraceptive pill.

Studies showed the pill stopped bleeding and shrank the fibroids and worked as well as shots of a hormone blocking drug which has unpleasant side effects.

The pill is called Esmya and is a low dose version of the emergency birth control pill called Ella.  It is currently in testing as it manufacturers need to establish whether it can be given to patients long term as Esmya may need to be given periodically especially if symptoms return, until the menopause when most fibroids usually disappear.

Two studies have already been undertaken with a small sample of 550 premenopausal women whose fibroid symptoms were serious enough that surgery was planned.

One study compared two doses of Esmya with a dummy pill for three months. The second tested Esmya against a monthly hormone-blocking shot that shrinks fibroids but causes hot flashes and, with long-term use, can thin bones. Women in that study got a daily Esmya pill and a dummy shot each month, or a hormone shot and a dummy pill.

In both studies, Esmya stopped the bleeding and shrank fibroids in most patients and worked as well as the shot, but with fewer side effects. Menstrual bleeding was controlled in over 90 percent of the women on Esmya — many within a week, compared to 19 percent of those who took a dummy pill.

At the end of the three months, only about half of the participants went ahead with any kind of fibroid surgery. That allowed the researchers to observe whether improvements lasted over the next six months. They did for many of the Esmya patients, while fibroids started growing after a month in the group that got the hormone shot.

This really does demonstrate to me how important it is to keep your hormones in check!  Whilst we all want the quick fix approach to treating fibroids (and I’d be the first to pop a pill that would magically make my fibroids disappear over night) there’s simply no substitute for a healthy lifestyle!  Further more Esmya is only treating the symptoms and not the root cause!

Esmya is currently awaiting marketing approval in Europe and needs to be tested in the US so it won't be available anytime soon.

Esmya is made by Swiss-based Preglem.