text_1: Getting relief from sexual dysfunction and incontinence caused by menopause
text_2: This news release summarizes an observational study on the benefits of CO2 ablative laser treatments for reducing menopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness/itching/burning, painful intercourse, frequent urinating, or incontinence in 94 post-menopausal women. While the release makes the claim that the study “demonstrated that this type of laser surgery was particularly effective in reducing the intensity of dyspareunia (painful sex) and dryness,” it was an observational study which cannot show cause-and-effect. The release notes that this intervention is a subject of debate among experts, and that more studies are needed to confirm the long term efficacy and safety of this approach. It falls short in several areas: it neglects to mention that the FDA warns against using lasers for menopause symptoms, excludes any data from the study, and omits disclosure of significant financial conflicts of interest among study authors and the organization that distributed the release, the North American Menopause Society. It’s estimated that around half of post-menopausal women have at least one of the aforementioned constellation of symptoms that some doctors label “genitourinary symptoms of menopause,” or GSM, and others see as normal (but problematic) symptoms of a low estrogen state. Some women respond well to symptomatic treatment, others may choose hormone replacement, and some struggle to find relief. It’s important to point out that many women seek no treatment at all. For women interested in treatment, finding reliable information can be problematic. Thorough and thoughtful news releases and news coverage should, at the very least, provide:  good data balancing the benefits and potential harms, give a sense of safety and efficacy in comparison to other existing treatments, seek out independent experts not involved in the highlighted study, as well as fully disclose if that study could be biased by conflicts of interest.