National Women’s Health Week: Empowering Women to Manage Their Hypoparathyroidism

National Women's Health Week, observed annually starting on Mother's Day, encourages women to prioritize their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. It's a time for women across the country to come together, raise awareness, and advocate for health issues that uniquely affect them and their communities.

For women living with hypoparathyroidism (hypopara), this week provides an opportunity to shed light on a rare endocrine disease that disproportionately affects women and to empower others to seek timely diagnosis and treatment.

Understanding Hypopara and Its Impact on Women

Hypopara is caused by insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), a key hormone that regulates calcium and phosphate levels in the body. Without enough PTH, individuals may experience symptoms such as muscle cramps, tingling or numbness in the hands, feet, and face, fatigue, brain fog, and, in severe cases, seizures and heart complications.

Most chronic hypopara cases occur due to accidental damage to or removal of the parathyroid glands during neck surgery, such as a thyroidectomy, while other causes stem from genetic and/or autoimmune conditions, or secondary or unknown causes.

It is estimated that 75% of diagnosed cases are in women, making awareness of this disease particularly crucial to ensuring more women receive timely and effective treatment.

For women like Joanna Maxwell, being diagnosed with hypopara was life-changing. The unpredictability of the symptoms of her disease left her feeling anxious and negatively impacted her ability to do many of the things she enjoys.

"I had to stop or limit certain activities, like long hikes, spontaneous trips, or even simple things like running errands without planning ahead," Joanna shared. "It didn't just impact me – it impacted my husband and our sons. I missed out on being present for so much, like many of their middle and high school experiences."

Getting to the Source

Diagnosing hypopara can be difficult because its symptoms often overlap with those of other medical conditions. The nonspecific nature of its symptoms can lead to the disease often being overlooked.

Joanna experienced similar challenges before her diagnosis. "It was disheartening to see the knowledge of my own condition being dismissed," Joanna shared. "I understand that it's a rare condition, but there's a real need for greater understanding of it within the medical community."

Many women struggling with unexplained symptoms may not have their PTH levels tested, which is key to confirming hypopara. If hypopara is suspected, individuals should talk to their doctors about getting blood tests that measure PTH and serum calcium levels.

Advances in Hypopara Treatment

Historically, treatment options for hypopara have been limited. Many patients have relied on calcium and active vitamin D to manage symptoms, but these conventional therapies do not address the underlying deficiency of PTH.

YORVIPATH^® is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for hypopara in adults in the U.S. It is a once-daily injection that provides continuous exposure to active PTH throughout a 24-hour dosing period.

It is not known if YORVIPATH is safe in patients who were recently diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism after surgery, patients who start with low levels of calcium in the blood, and children. People should not use YORVIPATH if they are allergic to any of its ingredients. Some side effects include high and low levels of calcium in the blood, possible bone cancer, and dizziness when standing. For more detailed safety information, please refer to the end of this article.

YORVIPATH is intended to maintain serum calcium levels within the normal range without the need for active vitamin D or therapeutic doses of calcium. However, patients can continue taking calcium as needed to meet their daily dietary requirements.

Finding a New Outlook

"Since starting on YORVIPATH, the biggest difference is that I feel like I'm able to more predictably manage my hypopara," Joanna shared. "Having a rare disease really puts into perspective how you want to live your life. I'm really leaning into joy, and I find it everywhere. I focus on what I can do rather than what I can't. I try to stay proactive with my health and advocate for myself."

This National Women's Health Week, it's essential to empower women to advocate for their health. By increasing awareness of hypopara, its symptoms, and the treatment options available, more women may get the care they need.

For additional support, advocacy groups such as the HypoPARAthyroidism Association offer education, online forums, and patient communities where women can connect and share their experiences.

By speaking up, raising awareness, and supporting one another, women with hypopara can take an active role in their health and help others do the same.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND USE

What is the most important information I should know about YORVIPATH^®?

YORVIPATH may cause serious side effects, including:

• High levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia). YORVIPATH can cause some people to have higher blood calcium levels than normal. Your healthcare provider should check your blood calcium before you start and during your treatment with YORVIPATH. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have nausea, vomiting, dizziness, feeling thirsty, confusion, muscle weakness, or irregular heartbeat. Hypercalcemia is more likely to occur within the first 3 months of starting YORVIPATH, but it may occur at any time.

• Low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia). People who stop using, miss, or change a dose of YORVIPATH may have an increased risk of low blood calcium levels, but hypocalcemia may occur at any time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have tingling in your fingertips, toes, lips or tongue, muscle spasms or cramps, oral numbness, depression, have problems thinking or remembering, abnormal heart rhythms, or seizures.

• Possible bone cancer (osteosarcoma). Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have pain in any areas of your body that does not go away or any new or unusual lumps or swelling under your skin that is tender to touch. These are some of the signs and symptoms of osteosarcoma and your healthcare provider may need to do further tests.

Who should not take YORVIPATH?

Do not use YORVIPATH if you are allergic to palopegteriparatide or any of the other ingredients in YORVIPATH.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking YORVIPATH?

Before using YORVIPATH, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

• are at higher risk of a type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. This is especially important:

• if you have a bone disease that increases your risk of developing osteosarcoma (including if you have Paget's disease).
• if a blood test shows that you have unexplained increases in bone alkaline phosphatase.
• if you have cancer of the bones or other cancer that has spread to your bones.
• if you are having or have had radiation therapy to the skeleton.
• if you are affected with a condition that runs in your family that can increase your chance of getting cancer in your bones.

• take medicines that contain digoxin, are used to treat osteoporosis, or can affect calcium levels in your blood.

• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if YORVIPATH will harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant during treatment with YORVIPATH.

• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if YORVIPATH passes into your breast milk. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby during treatment with YORVIPATH.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. YORVIPATH and other medicines may affect each other causing side effects.

What are the possible side effects of YORVIPATH?

YORVIPATH may cause serious side effects:

• Allergic (hypersensitivity) reaction, including anaphylaxis. Stop taking YORVIPATH and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency medical help right away if you have swelling of your face, lips, mouth, or tongue, breathing problems, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded (low blood pressure), fast heartbeat, itching, rash, or hives.

• Decrease in blood pressure when you change positions (orthostatic hypotension). Some people may feel dizzy, get a fast heartbeat, or feel light-headed right after injecting YORVIPATH. For the first few doses, give your injection of YORVIPATH in a place where you can sit or lie down right away if you get these symptoms. If your symptoms get worse or do not go away, contact your healthcare provider before you continue using YORVIPATH.

• Digoxin toxicity if you are using digoxin and YORVIPATH at the same time. Tell your healthcare provider if you experience irregular heart rhythm, heart palpitations, confusion, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or vision problems.

The most common side effects of YORVIPATH include injection site reactions, vasodilatory signs or symptoms such as a drop in blood pressure or lightheadedness when standing up, headache, diarrhea, back pain, high calcium levels, and sore throat.

These are not all of the possible side effects of YORVIPATH. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report side effects to FDA www.fda.gov/medwatch. You may also report side effects to Ascendis Pharma at 1-844-442-7236.

What is YORVIPATH used for?

YORVIPATH is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with low parathyroid hormone (PTH) (hypoparathyroidism).

• It is not known if YORVIPATH is safe and effective in people who have been recently diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism after surgery, or if it is started in people with low levels of calcium in the blood.

• It is not known if YORVIPATH is safe and effective in children.

• YORVIPATH should not be used in children and young adults whose bones are still growing.

Please click here for full Prescribing Information for YORVIPATH and Medication Guide.

For more information about YORVIPATH, please visit www.yorvipath.com or call +1 844-442-7236.