NEW YORK, Jun 12 (Reuters Health) - Gabapentin, a prescription drug used to
treat epilepsy, may help reduce or eliminate hot flashes caused by menopause or
as a side effect of certain drugs, according to a report.
"It would be reasonable for patients suffering with menopausal or
prescription drug-induced hot flashes to try gabapentin after consulting with
their personal physician," said Dr. Thomas Guttuso, Jr. from the University of
Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, in a statement issued by the
American Academy of Neurology.
Guttuso found that six patients given gabapentin treatment for a variety of
other conditions also had a reduction in the frequency of hot flashes, according
to a report in the June 13th issue of Neurology. In two of the patients--both
women--the number of hot flashes was reduced from as many as 15 per day to zero
after only 1 or 2 days of treatment.
Overall, the six patients experienced an average 87% reduction in their hot
flash frequency. The drug is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for
treating epilepsy, but it is also prescribed for migraines, some types of
tremor, or for anxiety disorders. The drug can cause sleepiness, dizziness and
clumsiness.
According to the report, one 52-year-old woman had a complete resolution of
her hot flashes 2 days after starting gabapentin to prevent migraine headaches.
Another patient, a 58-year-old man who had hot flashes in association with
treatment for prostate cancer, went from having 15 hot flashes a day to having
five.
How gabapentin might lower body temperature is unknown, according to
Guttuso. He adds that a clinical trial testing gabapentin for the treatment of
hot flashes is under way.
"Gabapentin therapy may prove to be a safe and effective alternative
treatment for hot flashes in women who are medically unable to take estrogen
therapy or in women who decide against estrogen therapy for personal reasons,"
Guttuso concludes.
