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Hot Flashes More Likely for Certain Smokers, Study Says

Posted 3 May 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, May 3 – Women smokers with certain gene variants are at increased risk for menopausal hot flashes compared to smokers without these genetic differences, a new study says. An analysis of data from nearly 300 late reproductive-age women who were followed for 11 years showed that smokers with specific variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in genes that affect metabolism are more likely to have hot flashes than smokers without these gene variants. The study appears in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. "Our report demonstrates the impact of smoking on hot flashes as a function of variants in genes involved in sex steroid metabolism in late reproductive-age women, and suggests that certain smokers have increased susceptibility to hot flashes based on their genetic background," lead author Dr. Samantha Butts, of the Perelman School of ... Read more

Related support groups: Smoking, Hot Flashes

Study Suggests Mental 'Fog' of Menopause Is Real

Posted 20 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 20 – The memory blips and distractible moments that women say they experience during menopause may be as real as the hot flashes and poor sleep, a new study suggests. Researchers gave women who said they were experiencing "menopause fog" a series of cognitive tests to see how well their abilities matched their complaints. Sure enough, the women who felt they had more memory problems were also the ones who did not keep track of information or maintain their focus as well. "The main point of this study is that women are really good monitors. If a woman says, 'I'm having memory problems,' she probably is," said study co-author Pauline Maki, director of Women's Mental Health Research in the department of psychiatry at University of Illinois at Chicago. On the other hand, people with age-related mental decline do not usually identify the problem, suggesting the memory issues ... Read more

Estrogen-Only Therapy May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

Posted 7 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 6 – Some women who take estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy to stave off hot flashes, night sweats and other symptoms of menopause may be at lower risk for developing breast cancer down the road, a news study says. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) fell from grace rather dramatically after a large government-run trial, the U.S. Women's Health Initiative, was stopped early in 2002 because HRT was shown to increase the risk of strokes and breast and ovarian cancer. Since that time, however, some subtleties have emerged as researchers parsed the evidence further. For example, short-term use of HRT is now deemed fairly safe for some women who have severe menopausal symptoms. The new study shows that longer-term use of estrogen-only therapy may actually lower a woman's odds of developing breast cancer. Estrogen-only therapy is reserved for women who have had a ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Postmenopausal Symptoms

Psychotherapy May Ease Hot Flashes After Breast Cancer

Posted 14 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Feb. 14 – After breast cancer treatment, many women suffer from hot flashes and night sweats, but a type of "talk therapy" might relieve these symptoms for some women, British researchers suggest. In a new study, women who received this form of psychotherapy, known as cognitive behavioral therapy, had reduced their symptoms by half within six months. "Hot flashes and night sweats are distressing symptoms, which cause social embarrassment and sleep problems, and they are challenging to treat, especially for women who have had breast cancer" because hormone replacement therapy is generally not recommended for these women, explained lead researcher Myra Hunter. According to background information in the study, which is published in the Feb. 15 online edition of The Lancet Oncology, 65 percent to 85 percent of women have hot flashes after breast cancer treatment. Group cognitive ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Breast Cancer

Hormonal Treatment of Hot Flashes Still OK for Some: Experts

Posted 18 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Oct. 18 – Women do have options when it comes to treating hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, and these still include the short-term use of hormone replacement therapy using estrogen alone, experts conclude in a new consensus report. "Hormone replacement therapy should be considered a very reasonable option for recently menopausal women who have moderate-to-severe hot flashes or night sweats," said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the current president of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was widely used up until 2002. That year, however, the estrogen-plus-progestin arm of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial was stopped early after women who took the formulation were found to have an increased risk for heart disease, strokes, breast cancer ... Read more

Being Heavier May Mean Fewer Hot Flashes for Women Over 60

Posted 31 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 31 – Older, heavier women tend to have fewer hot flashes than younger, leaner menopausal women, a small, new study suggests. The study included 52 women who experienced hot flashes and were not taking medication for those symptoms. The women's body fat percentage, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) were also measured, and a special skin monitor and electronic diary were used to track their hot flashes. The result: the researchers found that higher fat levels, BMI and waist circumference were associated with fewer hot flashes. These associations were strongest among white women. However, the reduction in hot flashes associated with higher fat levels wasn't evident in women younger than 60. One expert who was not involved in the study said the finding did make physiologic sense. "Being heavier means more body fat that can convert androgens into estrogens," ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Postmenopausal Symptoms

Flaxseed Fails as Treatment for Hot Flashes

Posted 6 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

SUNDAY, June 5 – The search for a safe remedy for menopausal hot flashes has been foiled again, with flaxseed the latest in a long line of compounds that apparently don't reduce the incidence of the unpleasant symptoms. Researchers presenting a new study Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago report that a daily flaxseed bar was no more effective than a placebo in helping with hot flashes in women with or without breast cancer. "It's unfortunate because these are such common problems, not just in breast cancer survivors but in postmenopausal women in general," said Dr. Joanne E. Mortimer, director of women's cancers programs at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif. "These poor women have one less option." Mortimer was not involved with the study. Hot flashes often occur in breast cancer patients who have undergone hormonal treatment ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Flaxseed

Meditation May Help Women Cope With Hot Flashes

Posted 3 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, June 3 – An easy-to-learn meditation technique can help ease the hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia of menopause, a new study says. The University of Massachusetts research showed that mindfulness training, based on a Buddhist meditation concept, reduced the distress associated with hot flashes and improved physical, psychosocial and sexual functioning. "The findings are important because hormone replacement therapy, used to treat menopause symptoms in the past, has been associated with health risks," said study author James Carmody, an associate professor of medicine in the division of preventive and behavioral medicine. About 40 percent of menopausal women suffer from hot flashes and night sweats, which undermine their quality of life, the researchers noted. But since hormone replacement therapy has been linked with an increased risk of heart disease, breast cancer and ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes

Acupuncture May Take Edge Off Menopause Symptoms

Posted 8 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 8 – Acupuncture may help reduce the severity of hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, according to a small study. The research included 53 postmenopausal women, with about half receiving traditional Chinese acupuncture twice a week and the others given sham acupuncture treatments. After 10 weeks, the women in the traditional acupuncture group had significantly less severe hot flashes and mood swings than those who'd gotten the fake treatment. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of vaginal dryness and urinary tract infection. The beneficial effects of traditional acupuncture, according to the researchers, did not appear to be associated with changes in levels of hormones that trigger menopause and its associated symptoms. The findings were published online March 7 in Acupuncture in Medicine. Though the researchers acknowledged that they did ... Read more

Early Symptoms in Menopause Might Protect Heart

Posted 25 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Feb. 25 – Women who begin to experience hot flashes and night sweats early in menopause appear to be at lower risk for heart disease, stroke and death, a new study suggests. But the start of those symptoms later in menopause may be associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, according to researchers from Northwestern University and Brigham and Women's Hospital. They examined data from more than 60,000 women who were followed for an average of 10 years and found that women with hot flashes and night sweats at the start of menopause had a 17 percent lower risk of stroke, an 11 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and an 11 percent lower risk of death, compared to women without hot flashes. Women who developed hot flashes and night sweats later in menopause had a 32 percent higher risk of heart attack and a 29 percent higher risk of death. No change in risk was seen ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Menopausal Disorders, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction

Study Ties Hot Flashes to Lower Breast Cancer Risk

Posted 27 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Jan. 27 – Here's some good news for women ever bothered by hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms: Your risk for breast cancer may be reduced as much as 50 percent, researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle report. "We know that hormones are important to breast cancer risk, and we also know that menopausal symptoms occur primarily because of changes in hormones that women experience as they go through menopause," said lead author and breast cancer epidemiologist Dr. Christopher I. Li. Now, for the first time, he said researchers looked at the relationship between menopause symptoms and breast cancer risk. "If we can confirm this finding, it may be somewhat of a silver lining for women who experience menopausal symptoms, because they can often really reduce a woman's quality of life," he said. For the study, published in the Jan. 26 online ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes

Antidepressant Might Help Ease Hot Flashes

Posted 19 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 18 – The antidepressant medication escitalopram (brand name Lexapro) reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes in older women, according to new research. Women in the study experienced nearly 10 hot flashes a day at the start of the study, but those were cut to an average of just over five hot flashes a day in women receiving the antidepressant compared to about 6.5 per day in women receiving a placebo. "Although hormone treatment is the usual treatment for hot flashes, and it is effective, for women who don't want to assume the potential risks of hormone therapy, this is another option," said the study's lead author, Ellen Freeman, a research professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "We found that after eight weeks of treatment with escitalopram, women had many fewer hot flashes a day compared ... Read more

Related support groups: Lexapro, Hot Flashes, Escitalopram

Fewer Excess Pounds May Mean Fewer Hot Flashes

Posted 12 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, July 12 – Weight loss might help middle-aged women who are overweight or obese reduce bothersome hot flashes accompanying menopause, according to a new study. "We've known for some time that obesity affects hot flashes, but we didn't know if losing weight would have any effect," said Dr. Alison Huang, the study's author. "Now there is good evidence losing weight can reduce hot flashes." Study participants were part of an intensive lifestyle-intervention program designed to help them lose between 7 percent and 9 percent of their weight. Huang, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, said the findings could provide women with another reason to take control of their weight. "The message here is that there is something you can do about it (hot flashes)," said Huang. About one third of women experience hot flashes for five ... Read more

Related support groups: Obesity, Hot Flashes

Fertility Drug Shows Potential Against Hot Flashes

Posted 2 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16 – A powerful fertility drug may have another use for older women: stopping hot flashes. In a letter to the editor in the Sept. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Netherlands report that in three cases, the injectable medication cetrorelix (Cetrotide) helped ease hot flash symptoms. "It is a very exciting new approach for an extremely common problem with an enormous psychosocial impact that is often ignored or underestimated," said the lead author of the letter, Dr. Hans de Boer, an endocrinologist at Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Not everyone is convinced that this drug is a viable option for treating menopausal symptoms, however. "This letter describes three cases and has no controls. This drug works on receptors in the brain and no one knows what the long-term consequences might be," said Dr. Lila Nachtigall, ... Read more

Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Postmenopausal Symptoms, Cetrotide, Cetrorelix

Hormonal Drugs Cool Hot Flashes From Prostate Cancer Therapy

Posted 7 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

SUNDAY, Dec. 6 – Hot flashes caused by androgen suppression therapy for prostate cancer are best controlled by the hormonal treatments cyproterone acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate, according to a new study. Androgen suppression is considered the gold standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer, but about 80 percent of patients undergoing the treatment experience hot flashes. A number of hormonal and non-hormonal drugs are used to treat the hot flashes, but no direct comparisons of the drugs have been made in clinical trials. The new study included 311 prostate cancer patients in France undergoing androgen suppression therapy. To treat their hot flashes, they received either the non-hormonal drug venlafaxine (102 men), or one of two hormonal drugs – cyproterone acetate (101 men) or medroxyprogesterone acetate (108 men). The patients were assessed at weeks four, eight and 12 ... Read more

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