Munawar Alam Ansari, Shahida P Ahmed, Mehar Ali.
Calcium channel blocker verapamil: A nonhormonal option for hot flashes management in patients with acute Opioid Abstinence Syndrome.
Pak J Med Sci Jan ;23(3):353-7.

Objective: Given the problems associated with hormonal therapy, and the prominent problem of hot flashes, there is a need for nonhormonal agents to alleviate hot flashes. Calcium ions play an important role in brain synaptosomes. This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of calcium channel blocker verapamil in hot flashes, the most frequently reported subjective symptom of acute opioid abstinence syndrome. Methodology: The study was a 10 days single blind, random-assignment, inpatient trial for the patients of opioid abstinence syndrome with a very common symptom, the hot flashes. Twenty patients were given Verapamil, 120mg/ day in divided doses. All patients, who have completed the treatment program, stayed in the hospital for 10 days. Results: Mean absolute change scores of number of hot flashes per day at endpoint, with baseline scores, showed a highly significant decline with verapamil treatment program. Conclusion: The investigators found a benefit of verapamil in hot flashes.

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