Yahoo Autos One Top Researcher Is Calling for the End of Menopause —Here’s Why That Makes So Much Sense
How much do you know about the ovaries? For starters, the ovaries are the central command of a woman’s health and vitality, according to Flow Advisory Council member Piraye Yurttas Beim, Ph.D., CEO of Celmatix, a women’s health-focused biotech company. “The ovary does so much, and when it stops functioning, our period or menses ends,” she said. “It’s kind of hilarious that we mark the end of function of this critical and vital organ by men just seeing that we don’t have our periods anymore.”
Historically, women’s health has taken the back-burner when it comes to attention, funding, and energy, despite our ovaries concerning more than women’s reproductive health. “The ovary is important for metabolic function, for immune function, for brain health, ” said Dr. Yurttas Beim. “When you have ovarian dysfunction early in life with conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (which impacts about 15% of all women) or early menopause conditions like that, it’s not just a reproductive condition. We have to stop referring to these as our reproductive organs.”
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She added, “We have to stop referring to these as reproductive conditions because they do so much more. Women with PCOS, for example, will have significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, and hirsutism, so this is more than just about reproduction. That’s important for women to understand.”
There is a huge disparity in funding for research and innovation in this space even though menopause is a catastrophic public health crisis and life event. “Less than 2% of all biopharma funding goes into innovation in women’s health,” said Dr. Yurttas Beim. That amount is a stark contrast to the number of pharmaceuticals on Earth. And yet, that 2% doesn’t create a virtuous cycle back into better products for women.
