Antidepressants reduce hot flashes in menopausal women
Antidepressants can reduce hot flashes in menopausal and postmenopausal women, a recent study has found.
Women who took the medicine escitalopram experienced a reduction in the frequency and severity of menopausal hot flashes, compared to women who received a placebo in the study.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was published in the Januaray 19 issue of JAMA.
Hormone use for hot flashes has been reduced over the years. But no other treatments have worked as well, the researchers said.
The eight-week trial involved 205 women, some who recieved 10 to 20 mg/d of escitalopram or a matching placebo. The average number of hot flashes at the beginning of the study was 9.8 per day. Those taking escitalopram experienced an average of 5.26 hot flashes per day by week 8.
