Most women experience vasomotor symptoms during menopause, which considerably affect their quality of life. While vasomotor symptoms can be substantially reduced with menopausal hormone therapy, many women are unable or choose not to take hormone therapy. Now, studies have demonstrated that neurokinin 3 receptor antagonists have a level of effectiveness against vasomotor symptoms that is similar to that of hormone therapy.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Davis, S. R. et al. Menopause. Nat. Rev. Dis. Primers 1, 15004 (2015).
Nelson, H. D. Menopause. Lancet 371, 760–770 (2008).
Conklin, M. & Santoro, N. Neurokinin receptor antagonists as potential non-hormonal treatments for vasomotor symptoms of menopause. Ther. Adv. Reprod. Health 17, 26334941231177611 (2023).
Mittelman-Smith, M. A., Krajewski-Hall, S. J., McMullen, N. T. & Rance, N. E. Neurokinin 3 receptor-expressing neurons in the median preoptic nucleus modulate heat-dissipation effectors in the female rat. Endocrinology 156, 2552–2562 (2015).
Rance, N. E., Dacks, P. A., Mittelman-Smith, M. A., Romanovsky, A. A. & Krajewski-Hall, S. J. Modulation of body temperature and LH secretion by hypothalamic KNDy (kisspeptin, neurokinin B and dynorphin) neurons: a novel hypothesis on the mechanism of hot flushes. Front. Neuroendocrinol. 34, 211–227 (2013).
Depypere, H., Lademacher, C., Siddiqui, E. & Fraser, G. L. Fezolinetant in the treatment of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. Expert Opin. Investig. Drugs 30, 681–694 (2021).
Prague, J. K. et al. Neurokinin 3 receptor antagonism rapidly improves vasomotor symptoms with sustained duration of action. Menopause 25, 862–869 (2018).
Depypere, H. et al. Treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms with fezolinetant, a neurokinin 3 receptor antagonist: a phase 2a trial. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 104, 5893–5905 (2019).
Maclennan, A. H., Broadbent, J. L., Lester, S. & Moore, V. Oral oestrogen and combined oestrogen/progestogen therapy versus placebo for hot flushes. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2004, CD002978 (2004).
Menown, S. J. & Tello, J. A. Neurokinin 3 receptor antagonists compared with serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors for non-hormonal treatment of menopausal hot flushes: a systematic qualitative review. Adv. Ther. 38, 5025–5045 (2021).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
N.S. has acted as a consultant for Ansh Labs, has served on Scientific Advisory Board for Astellas, Que Oncology, Amazon (Ember) and Menogenix, Inc., and has received grant support from Menogenix, Inc. S.E. declares no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elder, S., Santoro, N. NK3R antagonists: a novel approach for menopause symptoms. Nat Rev Endocrinol 19, 617–618 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00891-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00891-8
