title: A crossover study comparing gabapentin and fluoxetine for the treatment of vasomotor symptoms among postmenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the effectiveness of fluoxetine and gabapentin for treatment of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) after the menopause.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between March 2011 and March 2012, a randomized crossover study was performed at a center in Semnan, Iran, among postmenopausal women aged 45-57 years with hot flashes (≥2 per day for previous 4 months) for which they had received no previous treatment. Participants were divided into two groups with consecutive numbers assigned in order of recruitment. In the first treatment round (4 weeks), group A received 20mg/day fluoxetine and group B received 300 mg/day gabapentin. After a 2-week washout period, group A received gabapentin and group B received fluoxetine in a second round (4 weeks). Information about VMS was obtained with the Greene Climacteric Scale questionnaire. Participants and all investigators except one were masked to group assignment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data for 79 participants (39 in group A, 40 in group B) were analyzed. In both treatment rounds, gabapentin caused greater reductions in the severity of hot flashes than did fluoxetine (P<0.001 for both). After the first round of treatment, those who had received gabapentin reported greater reductions in the severity of night sweats (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gabapentin at a dose of 300 mg/day is more effective for treatment of VMS among postmenopausal women than is 20 mg/day fluoxetine. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials:IRCT2014092711019N3.
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahmanian
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohseni
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran. Electronic address: r_ghorbani@semums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Raheb
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghorbani
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077206:Gabapentin; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013546:Sweating / Q000187:drug effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D005473:Fluoxetine; D000077206:Gabapentin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
keywords: Fluoxetine; Gabapentin; Hot flash; Night sweats; Vasomotor symptoms