New Pharmacological Therapies for Vasomotor Symptom Management

Abstract

Objective: To review 2 recently approved therapies for vasomotor symptoms (VMSs) of menopause. Data Sources: PubMed searches (June 2003 to May 2014) were conducted using the keywords paroxetine vasomotor and bazedoxifene vasomotor. References from relevant articles were reviewed for pertinent citations that were not identified in the PubMed search. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Phase 3 clinical trials of recently approved hormonal and nonhormonal therapies for the treatment of VMSs of menopause were selected. Studies that evaluated the use of paroxetine mesylate or bazedoxifene (BZA)/conjugated estrogens (CEs) for VMSs were included. Data Synthesis: Four studies for BZA/CEs were identified. One published report of low-dose paroxetine mesylate was identified that was a combined analysis of 2 phase 3 studies. Both agents significantly decrease the incidence of hot flushes compared with placebo and are approved for the treatment of moderate to severe VMSs associated with menopause. BZA/CEs is only approved for women with an intact uterus. In all circumstances, the use of BZA/CEs should be limited to the shortest duration possible. Paroxetine mesylate was not studied head-to-head against hormone therapy, but the magnitude of its effect on VMSs is less than expected with hormone therapy. Conclusions: BZA/CEs is an effective hormonal therapy for treating VMSs in women with an intact uterus. Paroxetine mesylate is the first nonhormonal therapy that the FDA has approved for VMSs, making both viable options for the treatment of VMSs of menopause.