Non-hormonal options are effective in treating menopause symptoms

The classic symptoms of menopause – hot flashes, sleeplessness, and vaginal dryness – have typically been treated with estrogen therapy. Studies published today report that non-hormonal options are effective, too.

These treatments may involve cognitive therapy to help a patient sleep, or using low doses of a class of drugs called selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat hot flashes. SSRIs have traditionally been used to treat depression, but low doses effectively reduced hot flashes and night sweats, the researchers found.

“The [National Institutes of Health] asked us to give options to women for treatment of menopausal symptoms,” said lead author Dr. Susan Reed, research director for the UW Medicine Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center. The paper summarizes 10 years of data from five randomized trials performed by the research group known as MsFLASH… Read more.