Acupuncture Stops Hot Flashes After Cancer

A study from the Henry Ford Hospital says that acupuncture works as well as drugs at reducing hot flashes in breast cancer patients and also may increase a woman's sex drive.

The study also found that acupuncture's results last longer than drug therapy in treating hot flashes and night sweats, according to a news release on the work. The women also said they have more energy and clearer thinking.

Dr. Eleanor Walker said that the experiment showed that acupuncture is safe and effective. Venlafaxine, also known as Effexor, is usually used to treat women with side-effects from chemotherapy and hormone treatments. But it can cause dry mouth, decreased appetite, nausea and constipation.

Fifty patients were involved in the study. They were randomly assigned to either take venlafaxine or have acupuncture for 12 weeks. They were all followed for a year after that.

Both groups initially had a 50 percent drop in hot flashes and feelings of depression. However, after treatment stopped, those who got acupuncture still had low levels of hot flashes. The drug therapy group saw more problems, though the news release was not specific about how much of an increase.

It was not until three months after the last treatment that hot flashes began to return for the test group.

The study was published online in the Journal of Oncology.