Hot Flash as a Marker of Cardiovascular Risk in Recent Postmenopause: Effects of Non-hormonal Treatments

Summary

Hot flashes, vasomotor symptoms that affect many postmenopausal women, are associated with cardiovascular disease and endothelial dysfunction. Estrogen therapy, associated or not with progestogens, is the standard treatment for vasomotor symptoms and improves the endothelial function of postmenopausal women with hot flushes, even those with cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension. It is not known whether hot flushes are a cause for the development of endothelial dysfunction or are markers of this dysfunction, evidenced by estrogen deficiency, thus representing primitive target organ (vessel) lesion. Paroxetine was approved by the FDA as a non hormonal treatment for menopausal hot flashes. In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, the vascular effects of paroxetine at a dose of 7.5 mg / day, compared to placebo, during 12 weeks are evaluated.

Timeline

Start

2016-03-01

Primary completion

2017-09-30

Completion

2018-03-30

Publications

• Background Taddei S, Virdis A, Ghiadoni L, Mattei P, Sudano I, Bernini G, Pinto S, Salvetti A. Menopause is associated with endothelial dysfunction in women. Hypertension. 1996 Oct;28(4):576-82. doi: 10.1161/01.hyp.28.4.576.
• Background Bechlioulis A, Kalantaridou SN, Naka KK, Chatzikyriakidou A, Calis KA, Makrigiannakis A, Papanikolaou O, Kaponis A, Katsouras C, Georgiou I, Chrousos GP, Michalis LK. Endothelial function, but not carotid intima-media thickness, is affected early in menopause and is associated with severity of hot flushes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Mar;95(3):1199-206. doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-2262. Epub 2010 Jan 15.
• Background Lambrinoudaki I, Augoulea A, Armeni E, Rizos D, Alexandrou A, Creatsa M, Kazani M, Georgiopoulos G, Livada A, Exarchakou A, Stamatelopoulos K. Menopausal symptoms are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in healthy recently postmenopausal women. Climacteric. 2012 Aug;15(4):350-7. doi: 10.3109/13697137.2011.618564. Epub 2011 Dec 1.
• Background Silveira JS, Clapauch R, Souza Md, Bouskela E. Hot flashes: emerging cardiovascular risk factors in recent and late postmenopause and their association with higher blood pressure. Menopause. 2016 Aug;23(8):846-55. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000641.
• Background Orleans RJ, Li L, Kim MJ, Guo J, Sobhan M, Soule L, Joffe HV. FDA approval of paroxetine for menopausal hot flushes. N Engl J Med. 2014 May 8;370(19):1777-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1402080. No abstract available.

Drugs

Indications