In the study, nightly use of Lunesta resulted in statistically significant improvement, compared with placebo, in patient-reported measures of sleep. Women treated with Lunesta reported fewer nocturnal awakenings due to hot flashes than those treated with placebo. The drug was also well tolerated over the treatment period.
“More than 1.3 million women become menopausal each year in the US, adding to the existing 40 million American women of menopausal age who are already going through various neuroendocrine and somatic changes. Those changes may frequently be accompanied by symptoms of insomnia such as waking up during the night and difficulty falling back to sleep, particularly in the presence of hot flashes,” said Dr Claudio Soares, associate professor at McMaster University.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, up to 40-60% of perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women experience sleep disturbances.