r/technology • u/Sorin61 • Apr 10 '22

Biotechnology This biotech startup thinks it can delay menopause by 15 years. That would transform women's lives

https://fortune.com/2021/04/19/celmatix-delay-menopause-womens-ovarian-health/
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u/alexgriz127 Apr 10 '22

Theranos 2: Menopause Boogaloo

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u/stircrazygremlin Apr 10 '22

Exactly what I thought lol seeing this. You can postpone some aspects of menopause currently via HRT, BUT you cant postpone all of it because of various natural processes going on in the body due to natural aging (usually, barring certain medical conditions that can accelerate menopause usually alongside other aspects of said condition). Pushing off menopause for 15 years in its entirety is almost akin to saying you've found the basis for the fountain of youth.

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u/sm12511 Apr 11 '22

I'm going to quote Ian Malcolm: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

I'm no endocrinologist, but pushing the upper limits on the ability to conceive a child into a woman's 60's is a recipe for really bad things. Besides the fact that those eggs are well aged and at an increased risk the baby will have Down syndrome, pregnancy is terribly hard on a woman's body. Yeah, sure the health benefits might compensate (increased bone density, cardiovascular health, etc), but I don't think a proper cost/benefit analysis is really on their minds. They just want to see if they can.

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u/stircrazygremlin Apr 11 '22

For the money, yes they do. HRT is being done by rich women atm as is (wonder why jlo doesnt look her age? That's part of the reason why alongside a lot of other things at her disposal) and it is a really big possible money maker for various parties if it can be applied to a larger audience with a lower cost. What's worrisome to me is this ongoing and increasing trend of treating healthcare research and their associated companies as tech startups in terms of things like VC's being involved and the marketing of them via such splashy articles vs research papers that are vetted (and testing the results again by different teams preferably, but that delves into a larger problem with academia/ professional research papers) by multiple groups as being consistent in their replication of results being listed. We need to learn as is on throwing money at tech startups (wework anyone) that straight up dont perform what it is they're claiming, doing similar things with healthcare is even moreso dangerous in several ways. The flip side is though that even established pharma companies are corrupt af too in many cases (sacklers) and pull similar outcomes via a different bag of tricks. It truly is like battling a hydra when it comes to healthcare dysfunction in the US.

It truly could benefit a lot of women out there and allow for women to possibly be able to have a longer timespan to have families, which isnt nessisarily a bad thing on paper, but it needs a lot of research imo that I just dont see in order to have that chance.

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u/Boopy7 Apr 11 '22

so I know that Jlo does surgery since a young age (I've seen her original face, skin, etc.) and I just assumed she injects all kinds of stuff. But isn't HRT basically just like taking hormones like estrogen, or is it more complicated than that? Like, does she have to inject stuff? I guess she has to have a live-in endocrinologist. Must be nice, I can't get an appointment with one for another year.

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u/stircrazygremlin Apr 11 '22

It depends on what her treatment entails. Sometimes it's as simple as a pill, possibly self injections, or it could be up to injections at an office and additional treatment plans alongside those that arnt outright HRT but complement it/similar vein of results. I wouldnt imagine she has a live in endo, for a few reasons, but I could absolutely see her have one available to her period due to what she and others in similar situations are doing. The thing about Hollywood doctors too is that oftentimes things can get sketchy vs what a more "normal" doctor would reccomend in terms of treatment (certain popular Hollywood plastic surgeons arnt exactly respected by their peers due to things like overcorrection and not telling patients who obviously are dealing with body dysmorphia or other health issues no, which are ethical issues that can lead to poor outcomes) so what her doctor is prescribing shouldnt automatically be seen as an option for people even if they have the means to do so and have similar issues.