Antidepressant may be hormone alternative for hot flashes

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A low dose of antidepressant may be almost as effective as estrogen at reducing the number of hot flashes menopausal women have to endure, according to a new study. Estrogen therapy is still the best way to avert the sudden feelings of overheating, sweating and occasionally palpitations - the most common symptom of menopause - that can strike women from once a day to once an hour, day and night. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved one antidepressant medication, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine, brand name Brisdelle, for treating hot flashes in 2013. Antidepressants are often used off-label to treat hot flashes, Dr. Hadine Joffe of the department of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston told Reuters Health.



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