While experiencing painful menstrual cramps, women may endure lower abdominal pain, piercing pain that comes and goes, aching pain, or perhaps back pain. Study authors demonstrated the finding of a new drug, which is presently in Phase II clinical trials, intended to particularly aim at the root cause of painful menstrual cramps not simply the symptoms.
The condition is known as dysmenorrheal and is said to be one of the major causes of absenteeism from school and work among women in their teens and 20s. Dysmenorrhea apparently affects around 45 to 90 percent of women in child-bearing age. Apart from the pain in the abdomen and back, symptoms may comprise of nausea, vomiting, sweating, and dizziness.
Present treatments for the condition encompass pain-relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and oral contraceptives that halt menstruation. Nevertheless, these treatments could be unsuccessful in nearly one-third of women with moderate to acute cases. A few of them only alleviate the symptoms as opposed to aiming at the original cause of dysmenorrheal. They may also have unnecessary side effects like mood alteration and stomach upsets.
Andrzej R. Batt, commented, “We hope that the drug will provide a more effective treatment option for millions of women worldwide with this painful condition. Dysmenorrhea not only diminishes the quality of life for millions of women, but also has a hidden, society-wide economic cost that involves an enormous number of days lost from work and school.”
Menstrual cramps are supposedly due to contractions of the uterus during menstruation. In dysmenorrhea, the uterus seems to contract with augmented frequency, thereby causing abnormally acute cramping pain. The cause could be owing to augmented blood levels of the hormone vasopressin, which seems to play a function in controlling contraction of the uterus.
Their quest for such a promising drug appeared to include shifting through several chemical compounds. Scientists then re-engineered the compound, identified by the code word, VA111913, to adjust its effects. One alteration appeared to enable the drug to be administered orally, as a pill than as an injection.
Batt mentioned that last year VA111913 seemed to effectively pass the landmark toward developing into a new drug, when the first stage of clinical trials illustrated that it may be harmless for upcoming clinical studies, with no clear ill-effects.
The study was reported at the American Chemical Society (ACS) 239th National Meeting.