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COPYRIGHT 2003 International Medical News Group
Many any menopausal symptoms don't need treatment. Up to 85% of perimenopausal women develop vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes or sweating; perhaps half of these women find their symptoms disturbing.
Systemic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) effectively treats menopausal vasomotor symptoms, as well as vaginal dryness and urogenital atrophy associated with menopause. Many women can't or won't take HRT, however, either because they've had breast cancer or out of concern that HRT may increase their risk for breast cancer or cardiovascular disease.
What then? A variety of other systemic treatments has been documented as effective for relieving vasomotor symptoms, including low-dose regimens of antidepressant, antihypertensive, or anticonvulsant drugs. Because data on most of these treatments consist of results from only one or two small, short-term studies, some clinicians remain skeptical about the efficacy of these drugs. Limited controlled data so far suggest that mean hot flash scores (the frequency multiplied by the average severity) decline approximately 80% with systemic HRT, 60% with antidepressants, 40% with the antihypertensive drug clonidine, and 25% with placebo. Dosages of these agents often start lower than dosages used for traditional indications and then may be increased to usual dosages or remain lower. The...
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