Alternative Medicine Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alternative Medicine, including details on complementary medicine, alternative therapies, homeopathy.

A randomized controlled pilot study of acupuncture for postmenopausal hot flashes: effect on nocturnal hot flashes and sleep quality.

Huang MI, Nir Y, Chen B, Schnyer R, Manber R

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of acupuncture on postmenopausal nocturnal hot flashes and sleep. DESIGN: Prospective randomized placebo-controlled study. SETTING: Stanford University School of Medicine and private acupuncture offices. INTERVENTION(S): Active or placebo acupuncture was administered for nine sessions over seven weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Severity and frequency of nocturnal hot flashes from daily diaries and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). PATIENT(S): Twenty-nine postmenopausal women experiencing at least seven moderate to severe hot flashes daily, with E(2) <18 pg/mL and FSH 30.0-110.0 IU/L. RESULT(S): Nocturnal hot-flash severity significantly decreased in the active acupuncture group (28%) compared with the placebo group (6%), P=.017. The frequency of nocturnal hot flashes also decreased in the active group (47%, P=.001), though it was not significantly different from the placebo group (24%, P=.170; effect size = 0.65). Treatment did not differentially influence sleep; however, correlations between improvements in PSQI and reductions in nocturnal hot flash severity and frequency were significant (P<.026). CONCLUSION(S): Acupuncture significantly reduced the severity of nocturnal hot flashes compared with placebo. Given the strength of correlations between improvements in sleep and reductions in nocturnal hot flashes, further exploration is merited.

Published 5 September 2006 in Fertil Steril, 86(3): 700-10.
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