Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Women’s health

The flash dance of midlife: the Skylight 1 trial

Nature Medicine (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

For women who choose nonhormonal therapy for hot flashes, fezolinetant appears to be one of several modestly efficacious and safe options — but women want more.

From a recent feature article in the New York Times Magazine arguing against the widespread ignorance of menopause symptoms1, to an April 6 Oprah Daily summit entitled “The Menopause Talk,” to various surveys conducted around the world, the topic of menopause seems to be going viral. In September 2022, there was even a bill, The Menopause Research Act of 2022 (HR 8774) introduced in the US House of Representatives designed to compel the US National Institutes of Health to evaluate the status of menopause research, identify gaps and devote US$200 million to investigations of menopause in 2023–20242.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Efficacy of treatments for menopause-related symptoms.

References

  1. Dominus, S. The New York Times Magazine https://go.nature.com/44DMJmp (1 February 2023).

  2. Rep. McKinley, D. B. [R-W.-1. H.R.8774 – 117th Congress (2021–2022): Menopause Research Act of 2022 (2022).

  3. Lederman, S. et al. Lancet 401, 1091–1102 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Williams, R. E. et al. Climacteric J. Int. Menopause Soc. 11, 32–43 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Nappi, R. E. et al. Maturitas 167, 66–74 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Joffe, H. et al. JAMA Intern. Med. 174, 1058–1066 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Freeman, E. W. et al. JAMA 305, 267–274 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Beaudoin, F. L. et al. https://go.nature.com/3NUjcir (ICER, 2023).

  9. Johnson, K. A. et al. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgad058 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Grand View Research. https://go.nature.com/3VKXHm3 (Cision PR Newswire, 2022).

  11. Davis, S. R. et al. Nat. Rev. Dis. Primer 1, 15004 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Andrea LaCroix

  2. Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota and Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Kristine Ensrud

Authors
  1. Andrea LaCroix
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kristine Ensrud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Andrea LaCroix or Kristine Ensrud.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

LaCroix, A., Ensrud, K. The flash dance of midlife: the Skylight 1 trial. Nat Med (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02359-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02359-8

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing