Acupuncture for postmenopausal hot flashes

December 24, 2006

Nir Y, Huang MI, Schnyer R, Chen B, Manber R. Acupuncture for

postmenopausal hot flashes. Maturitas. 2006 Dec 18; [Epub ahead of print]

Stanford Univ School of Med, USA. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether

individually tailored acupuncture is an effective treatment option for reducing

postmenopausal hot flashes and improving quality of life. METHODS: In a

randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study, 29 postmenopausal participants

averaging at least 7 moderate to severe hot flashes/d, with a baseline

estradiol concentration of <50pg/mL and a normal TSH level, were

randomized to receive 7 weeks (9 treatment sessions) of either active

acupuncture or placebo acupuncture (placebo needles that did not

penetrate the skin at sham acupuncture points). Participants recorded hot

flashes in logs that were reported daily. Global indices of the severity and

frequency of hot flashes were derived from the participants' daily logs.

RESULTS: Participants receiving the active treatment had a greater

reduction in hot flash severity (24.5+/-30.7%) compared to those receiving

placebo (4.4+/-17.1%, P=0.042). Within group repeated measures analyses

of variance revealed a significant reduction in hot flash severity in the active

(P=0.042), but not in the placebo treatment group (P=0.15). Although there

was no significant group difference in the reduction of hot flash frequency

between the active (42.4+/-32.2%) and placebo groups (32.0+/-26.5%;

P>/=0.352), within group repeated measures analyses of variance revealed

that the reduction was statistically significant in both groups (P</=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Standardized, individually tailored acupuncture treatment

was associated with significantly greater decrease in the severity, but not

the frequency, of hot flashes, in symptomatic postmenopausal women when

compared to placebo acupuncture of equal duration. Future, larger scale,

studies are needed. PMID: 17182200 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Happy Christmas,

Recommended Posts