Hot flashes are a bothersome symptom of menopause. Right now, the only approved treatment is hormone therapy, but many women can’t or don’t want to take hormone therapy because it carries a small increased risk of breast cancer.
Researchers at UVA have found that gabapentin, a drug developed to fight seizures, significantly reduced hot flashes in postmenopausal women, according to JoAnn Pinkerton, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, director of the University of Virginia’s Midlife Health Center and principal investigator of the study for the UVA School of Medicine.
The drug could provide a non-hormone alternative for women if it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Pinkerton says.