Does Acupuncture Help Tn The Treatment Of Hot Flashes?

KYW Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It is a very interesting question: does acupuncture help in the treatment of hot flashes for women at the time of menopause?

Certainly there are many who support the idea. In an effort to find out researchers at the University of Melbourne decided to test women for a response by comparing real acupuncture treatments with so called sham treatments where women think they are undergoing acupuncture but actually are not. What the researchers found is that both groups of women had improvement in symptoms but those with the sham acupuncture actually improved more.

The report in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicated that patients with vasomotor symptoms or hot flashes can benefit from empathetic treatment and time spent with them.