Physiological consequences of inhibin loss at menopause

Every ageing woman faces potentially debilitating physical symptoms following the cessation of ovarian function at menopause. Crucially, many of these symptoms, including bone, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, persist for decades. Although oestrogen is an effective therapy for menopausal complications, its long-term use is contraindicated in a growing number of women. Thus, there is a need to develop new therapies to alleviate menopausal symptoms, particularly those that persist for more than a third of a woman’s life. To this end, our research has focused on the ovarian hormones, inhibin A and inhibin B, which, like oestrogen, decline precipitously at menopause. Using a unique model of inhibin insufficiency, we are setting out to prove that decreased circulating inhibin levels disrupt homeostasis in both reproductive and non-reproductive tissues. Additionally, we hope to demonstrate that our patented inhibin replacement therapy can effectively treat female reproductive disorders, and also postmenopausal conditions, such as osteoporosis and metabolic disease.