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What is Evista?

The drug Evista (generic name raloxifene) acts like estrogen in certain places in the body, but is not a hormone. It’s used to help prevent and treat osteoporosis in women who’ve reached menopause. Osteoporosis causes bones to gradually grow thin, fragile, and more likely to break. Evista slows down the loss of bone mass that occurs with menopause, lowering the risk of spine fractures due to osteoporosis.

Evista also lowers the levels of total cholesterol and LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or “bad”) cholesterol in the blood. So it may also help prevent heart disease.

Because Evista doesn’t seem to act like estrogen in breast or uterine tissue, it may be a good choice for women who are at high risk of breast or uterine cancer. Evista doesn’t relieve the symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, flushing, and vaginal dryness or itching.

Medical studies are currently underway to evaluate whether taking Evista long-term is effective in preventing other bone fractures, breast cancers, and deaths from heart disease.

The usual dose of Evista is 60mg, taken once daily, with or without meals.

Preventing osteoporosis requires more than drug therapy. It’s also important to eat and drink enough calcium or take a calcium supplement, do weight-bearing exercise such as walking or jogging regularly, stop smoking, and keep alcohol intake to a minimum.

Sources:
Cummings S. “The effect of Raloxifene on Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women," Journal of the American Medical Association. 281 (1999).
Micromedex® Healthcare Series. Thomson Micromedex, 2006.
Chlebowski, Rowan T. “Primary Care: Reducing the Risk of Breast Cancer.”The New England Journal of Medicine. 343 (2000).
Baker, V.L. “Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators in Reproductive Medicine and Biology”. Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey. 55 (2000).
Drug Facts and Comparisons, Facts & Comparisons, 2006.
Evista Product Information. Eli Lily and Company, 2006.

This answer prepared 1/18/2001.
This information updated 12/5/2006.