Help is on the way for some 3 million U.S. women of reproductive age who suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding, a condition also known as menorrhagia. Research into the treatment of this medical condition has led to the recent approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a new drug as the first non-hormonal therapy for menorrhagia.
The number of American women who experience menorrhagia is based on estimates from annual reports to the FDA, and according to the agency, many of these women develop the condition with no apparent cause. Menorrhagia is an abnormally heavy and prolonged menstrual period that occurs at regular intervals. Possible causes include abnormal blood clotting, disruption of normal hormonal regulation of periods, and disorders of the endometrial lining of the uterus.
