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Case Reports
. 2020 Jul 1:9:2020-3-5.
doi: 10.7573/dic.2020-3-5. eCollection 2020.

Experience with ospemifene in a patient with vulvovaginal atrophy and dyslipidemia: a case study

Silvia Pilar González Rodríguez  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Experience with ospemifene in a patient with vulvovaginal atrophy and dyslipidemia: a case study

Silvia Pilar González Rodríguez. Drugs Context. .

Abstract

The changes that occur in sex hormone levels, body composition, and lipid/lipoprotein levels during the menopause transition, together with vascular remodeling, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in postmenopausal women. Any treatments prescribed for concomitant conditions during menopause should not exacerbate CVD risk factors. Ospemifene is the first non-hormonal, non-estrogenic drug approved to treat moderate-to-severe vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA), a component of genitourinary syndrome of menopause, in women unsuited to receive vaginal estrogen therapy. This case study reports the experience of a postmenopausal woman with VVA who required escalation from local therapy and presented CVD risk factors (family history and hypertension). During the first 6 months of ospemifene treatment, and before initiating concomitant simvastatin for persistently elevated total cholesterol concentrations, improvements were observed in several lipid parameters (decreases of 11% in total cholesterol, 16% in low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and 15% in triglycerides) which may have been attributable at least in part to ospemifene. Improvements in lipid parameters during ospemifene treatment for VVA may contribute toward reducing long-term CVD risk.

Keywords: dyslipidemia; ospemifene; vulvar and vaginal atrophy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure and potential conflicts of interest: Dr. González Rodríguez reports grants from Pfizer, grants from Amgen, grants from Gedeon Richter, grants from Exeltis, grants from Bayer, grants from MSD, grants from Procare Health, grants and personal fees from Shionogi, grants from Serelys, and personal fees from Mylan, outside the submitted work. The author has also provided scientific support to Shionogi Spain by lecturing and/or taking part in Advisory Board meetings organized by Shionogi (Madrid, Spain). The author’s time was compensated by Shionogi Spain according to local codes of practice. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Potential Conflicts of Interests form for the authors is available for download at: https://www.drugsincontext.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/dic.2020-3-5-COI.pdf

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vulvovaginal atrophy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Consequences of vulvovaginal atrophy: vulvovaginal dysfunction can lead to a loss of sexual desire.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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