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MsFLASH-01: Escitalopram for Menopausal Symptoms in Midlife Women

This study has been completed.
Sponsor:
Collaborators:
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
Information provided by:
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT00894543
First received: May 5, 2009
Last updated: March 5, 2013
Last verified: March 2013
History of Changes
Results First Received: February 17, 2011  
Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Allocation: Randomized;   Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study;   Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment;   Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor);   Primary Purpose: Treatment
Conditions: Hot Flashes
Menopause
Vasomotor Symptoms
Interventions: Drug: Escitalopram
Other: Placebo

  Participant Flow
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  Baseline Characteristics
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Reporting Groups
  Description
Escitalopram Escitalopram is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). For the first four weeks, participants took 1 pill daily (escitalopram 10 mg or placebo). At 4 weeks, if hot flash frequency was not reduced by at least 50% or there was no decrease in severity, the dose was increased to 2 pills daily(escitalopram 20 mg or placebo) unless precluded by unacceptable adverse events. At 8 weeks, participants taking 1 pill per day stopped treatment; participants taking 2 pills per day tapered the dose over a week.
Placebo Inactive pill
Total Total of all reporting groups

Baseline Measures
    Escitalopram     Placebo     Total  
Number of Participants  
[units: participants]
 		  104     101     205  
Age  
[units: participants]
 		     
<=18 years     0     0     0  
Between 18 and 65 years     104     101     205  
>=65 years     0     0     0  
Age  
[units: years]
Mean ± Standard Deviation 		  53.45  ± 4.20     54.36  ± 3.86     53.9  ± 4.0  
Gender  
[units: participants]
 		     
Female     104     101     205  
Male     0     0     0  
Race (NIH/OMB)  
[units: participants]
 		     
American Indian or Alaska Native     0     0     0  
Asian     0     0     0  
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander     0     0     0  
Black or African American     47     48     95  
White     53     49     102  
More than one race     0     0     0  
Unknown or Not Reported     4     4     8  
Region of Enrollment  
[units: participants]
 		     
United States     104     101     205  
Menopausal Status  
[units: participants]
 		     
Postmenopause     84     83     167  
Late transition     17     15     32  
Early transition     3     3     6  
Body Mass Index (BMI) [1]
[units: participants]
 		     
<25, kg/m^2     32     22     54  
25-<30, kg/m^2     34     38     72  
>=30, kg/m^2     38     40     78  
Missing data     0     1     1  
Hysterectomy  
[units: participants]
 		     
Hysterectomy     13     13     26  
Hysterectomy and oophorectomy     11     8     19  
Oophorectomy only     3     1     4  
None     77     78     155  
Don't know     0     1     1  
[1] BMI calculated as (body weight in kilograms) divided by (body height in meters squared) (kg/m^2)



  Outcome Measures
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1.  Primary:   Daily Frequency of Hot Flashes Per Day Assessed by Prospective Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
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2.  Primary:   Change in Daily Frequency of Hot Flashes Between Baseline and Week 4 as Assessed by Prospective Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: week 4 minus baseline ]
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3.  Primary:   Change in Daily Frequency of Hot Flashes Between Baseline and Week 8 as Assessed by Prospective Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: week 8 minus baseline ]
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4.  Primary:   Daily Severity of Hot Flashes Assessed by Prospective Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
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5.  Primary:   Change in Daily Severity of Hot Flashes Between Baseline and Week 4 as Assessed by Prospective Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: week 4 minus baseline ]
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6.  Primary:   Change in Daily Severity of Hot Flashes Between Baseline and Week 8 as Assessed by Prospective Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: week 8 minus baseline ]
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7.  Secondary:   Daily Hot Flash Bother, Recorded on Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
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8.  Secondary:   Change in Daily Hot Flash Bother Between Baseline and Week 4 as Recorded on Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: week 4 minus baseline ]
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9.  Secondary:   Secondary Outcome: Change in Daily Hot Flash Bother Between Baseline and Week 8 as Recorded on Daily Diaries   [ Time Frame: week 8 minus baseline ]
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  Serious Adverse Events
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  Other Adverse Events
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  More Information
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Certain Agreements:  
Principal Investigators are NOT employed by the organization sponsoring the study.
There is NOT an agreement between Principal Investigators and the Sponsor (or its agents) that restricts the PI's rights to discuss or publish trial results after the trial is completed.


Limitations and Caveats
Limitations of the study, such as early termination leading to small numbers of participants analyzed and technical problems with measurement leading to unreliable or uninterpretable data
Although this was a community-based sample, the volunteers may be a select group motivated to seek treatment. An 8-week trial is brief, but data indicate that this interval is sufficient to determine long-term efficacy of a nonhormonal compound.  


Results Point of Contact:  
Name/Title: Dr. Ellen W. Freeman
Organization: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
phone: 215-349-5521
e-mail: freemane@mail.med.upenn.edu


Publications of Results:


Responsible Party: Andrea LaCroix, Garnet Anderson, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00894543     History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers: MsFLASH-01, 1 U01 AG032699-01, 1 U01 AG032656-01
Study First Received: May 5, 2009
Results First Received: February 17, 2011
Last Updated: March 5, 2013
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government