Pilot study of fluvoxamine treatment for climacteric symptoms in Japanese women

BACKGROUND: Selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression and can be used as nonhormonal alternatives to manage hot flashes for women with a history of breast cancer and unable to take hormone replacement therapy. There are, however, few reports on the efficacy of SSRIs for the treatment of natural postmenopausal climacteric symptoms. In this pilot study, we evaluate the SSRI, fluvoxamine, for controlling climacteric symptoms and vasomotor symptoms, in particular. METHODS: Twenty-two patients were enrolled from our hospital. All were orally administered fluvoxamine (50 mg daily). Climacteric and depressive symptoms were assessed using simple menopausal index (SMI) and self-rating questionnaire for depression (SRQ-D), respectively, at baseline, and at 2 and 6 weeks post-treatment. RESULTS: Six weeks following drug administration, neither the SRQ-D nor SMI scores significantly decreased compared to baseline. The mean levels of vasomotor symptoms and mental symptoms decreased significantly following fluvoxamine administration, while skeletal muscle symptom scores did not. CONCLUSION: We were able to demonstrate that fluvoxamine was effective in treating not only depressive moods in climacteric symptoms but also the associated vasomotor symptoms. There are several limitations to this preliminary study. Future controlled studies are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of fluvoxamine for climacteric disturbances.