Acupuncture beats drugs to treat hot flashes

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Acupuncture beats drugs to treat hot flashes

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26839216/

 

WASHINGTON - Acupuncture works as well as a drug commonly used to combat hot

flashes and other menopausal symptoms that can accompany breast cancer

treatment, and its benefits last longer, without bad side effects,

researchers said on Monday.

 

They tested acupuncture, which began in China more than 2,000 years ago and

involves inserting needles into the body, against the Wyeth antidepressant

Effexor, for hot flashes in breast cancer patients.

 

Acupuncture was just as effective as Effexor, also called venlafaxine, in

managing symptoms including hot flashes and night sweats, according to

researchers led by Dr. Eleanor Walker of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

 

After 12 weeks of treatment, symptoms were reduced for 15 additional weeks

for women who had undergone acupuncture, compared with two weeks for those

who had taken Effexor, Walker said.

 

" It was a more durable effect, " Walker, whose findings were presented at an

American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting in Boston,

said in a telephone interview.

 

There were no bad side effects with acupuncture, and women reported

increased energy, overall sense of well-being and sexual desire, the

researchers said.

 

Those taking Effexor reported side effects including nausea, headache,

difficulty sleeping, dizziness, increased blood pressure, fatigue and

anxiety.

 

Value of acupuncture

The study adds to a growing body of evidence of the value of acupuncture.

Earlier research had shown it can reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and

post-operative pain.

 

" It's been tested directly against a drug that we use regularly. And it's

more effective. It has benefits, as opposed to any side-effects, " Walker

said.

 

" If you only have to give women treatment three to four times a year as

opposed to having to take a pill every day, that's going to be more

cost-effective for insurance companies and the patient, " Walker added.

 

Breast cancer patients can develop menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes

after treatment with chemotherapy and anti-estrogen hormones. Hormone

replacement therapy is often used to treat such symptoms in women without

breast cancer, but breast cancer patients cannot use that therapy because it

may raise the risk of the cancer's return.

 

Effexor, one of a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin

reuptake inhibitors, is one of the most commonly used drugs to treat hot

flashes in these women.

 

But the researchers said some women opt not to take such drugs out of

concern over side effects.

 

Forty-seven breast cancer patients took part in the study, about half

getting acupuncture and half getting Effexor. The women kept track of the

number and severity of hot flashes before, during and after the 12 weeks of

treatment.

 

Walker said it is unclear exactly how acupuncture is working. Experts say it

may help the activity of the body's natural pain-killing chemicals among

other things.

Copyright 2008 Reuters.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Here is the abstract for the study

 

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer

Patients Receiving Hormone Suppression Treatment

 

E. M. Walker1, A. I. Rodriguez2, B. Kohn2, J. Pegg1, R. M. Bell2, R.

A. Levine2

1Henry Ford Health System Department of Radiation Oncology, Detroit,

MI, 2Henry Ford Health System Complementary &

Integrative Medicine Program, Detroit, MI

 

Purpose/Objective(s): Vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes, etc.) are

common debilitating side effects of anti-estrogen treatment in

conventional breast cancer care. Hormone replacement therapy, normally

used in postmenopausal women to treat these symptoms, is

contraindicated in breast cancer patients. The antidepressant,

venlafaxine (Effexor), a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is currently

the pharmacological therapy of choice for these hot flashes. However,

many women refuse this treatment approach because of

potential side effects that include sexual dysfunction and nausea, or

they simply do not want to take any more medication. This randomized

clinical trial (RCT) tested the hypothesis that acupuncture reduces

vasomotor symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving hormonal

therapy and produces fewer side effects than venlafaxine.

 

Materials/Methods: Patients treated for breast cancer (Stages 0-III)

receiving either Tamoxifen or Arimidex and having at least 14 hot

flashes per week were randomized to receive a 12 week course of

acupuncture or venlafaxine. 47 total patients completed the study (24

acupuncture, 23 venlafaxine). Patients logged daily the number and

severity of hot flashes for one-week prior to treatment (baseline),

during the course of treatment, and at regular intervals throughout 1

year following treatment. Other outcome measures

assessed before, during, and after treatment included

menopause-specific quality of life, general health status (SF-12),

Beck Depression Inventory, and side effects.

 

 

Results: Both acupuncture and venlafaxine groups exhibited significant

decreases in hot flashes and other menopausal, quality of

life symptoms, as well as decreases in depressive symptoms. These

changes were similar in the 2 groups, indicating that acupuncture

is at least as effective as venlafaxine in reducing vasomotor and

other symptoms associated with anti-estrogen hormonal treatment

of breast cancer. Additionally, numerous patients treated with

venlafaxine reported negative side effects including nausea, dry

mouth, headache, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, double vision,

increased blood pressure, constipation, fatigue, anxiety, feeling

``spaced out,'' and body jerking during the night. Patients treated

with acupuncture experienced no negative side effects. They reported

increased energy, clarity of thought, sexual desire, and overall sense

of well-being (compared to pretreatment).

 

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that adding acupuncture

to breast cancer treatment regimens may establish an integrative

approach that is more effective in managing symptoms due to treatment

with fewer side effects than conventional pharmacotherapy treatment.

 

Funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

 

Author Disclosure: E.M. Walker, None; A.I. Rodriguez, None; B. Kohn,

None; J. Pegg, None; R.M. Bell, None; R.A. Levine, None.

 

Chinese Medicine , " sunny sunny "

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