Newport Beach-based CurieMD seeks to treat the often-ignored medical needs of menopausal women

The medical needs of menopausal women are often left untreated due to a lack of understanding and training in the medical field, according to Newport Beach‘s Dr. Leslie Meserve.

Meserve recently founded the company, CurieMD, which is the first telemedicine website to offer menopause treatment and consultations.

“Menopause is a stage of womanhood that has long been ignored and misrepresented,” Meserve said. “It’s been stereotyped and exaggerated. TV will show a woman having a hot flash ... It’s kind of funny to laugh about. But it’s not funny when it affects a woman’s daily life, where she is having hot flashes all night long, waking up exhausted and having a difficult time with relationships and work functions.

“The long-term effect of menopause is bone loss, and without being treated with hormone therapy, women have an increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.”

A Yale University study found that 75% of women who asked for medical help for menopausal symptoms were left untreated.

Meserve said the medical field hasn’t taken menopause seriously, so doctors often aren’t required to take courses on the matter during their schooling.

“If there’s not a specific interest in it, then physicians just don’t get trained in it,” Meserve said.

The process for using CurieMD involves filling out a medical history questionnaire before connecting with a physician. Consultations and doctor’s visits are held over the phone. CurieMD sends the prescriptions to a mail-order pharmacy so patients have them delivered to their homes.

The physicians of CurieMD have to be board-certified, have years managing midlife women’s health and have experience prescribing hormone therapies like estrogen and progesterone.

Meserve was a primary care physician for years until she decided to become a certified menopause practitioner. At her Newport Beach practice, she treats women with menopause and men with andropause, which occurs when testosterone levels decline.

“We are not attempting to replace the regular care that a woman will receive from her primary care doctor or gynecologist,” Meserve said. “We are providing extra care for these symptoms that require experts in the field.”

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