Posts Tagged "hot flash"

New Flash! In the Pipeline: Hot Flashes!

Posted by Liz on Sep 22, 2008 in hot flash | 1 comment

Listen up!

A consortium of five research centers in the Boston Area are dedicating their time to researching remedies for hot flashes and night sweats. The National Institutes of Health is sponsoring the five-year, $22 million initiative.

Harvard Medical School Researchers Dr. Lee Cohen and Dr. Hadine Joffe are leading the effort, which is focusing on both low-dose hormones and most importantly, alternative approaches.  Randomized studies will be exploring the following therapies:

• antidepressants
• yoga
• relaxation breathing
• exercise
• low-dose estradiol patches and gel

Other clinical trials are also underway. If you’re interested in learning more or volunteering for a study, here’s a complete listing of those that are actively recruiting volunteers.

Like a Heatwave, Burning in My Heart

Posted by Liz on Sep 15, 2008 in heart disease, hot flash | 5 comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc7P65KNwVY]

It appears that hot flashes affect more than quality of life.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh report that hot flashes might actually damage the blood vessesls and increase the risk for atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease characterized by hardening of the arteries.

Study partciipants included 492 women, ages 45 to 58 years, who were participating in the community-based Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation.

The findings, which were published in the eary online edition of the journal Circulation, show a significant increase in calcium deposits and buildup  (i.e. calcification) in the greater coronary artery and aorta in women with hot flashes. In fact, these women were 1.5 times likely to develop calcification than women not experiencing hot flashes.

The researchers report that hot flashes may indicate underlying adverse vascular changes in women.

So what can you do? Because hot flashes may be signs of subclinical or underlying changes in blood vessels that can lead to heart disease, shutting them down is not enough.

Rather, lifestyle changes that promote heart health, such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, weight maintenance or reduction, quitting smoking and moderate alcohol use, seem like smart choices.

In fact, research confirms that lifestyle interventions that include healthy eating and regular exercise can confer protection against and slow different forms of heart disease, including atherosclerosis, if started during perimenipause.

My Dream: West Meets East…Someday

Posted by Liz on Sep 4, 2008 in herbal medicine, Meditation/mindfulness therapy, women's health | 3 comments

In 2005, a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health issued a statement emphasizing that menopause is not a disease. Yet, only yesterday, I ran across a newly-issued primer on menopause that is geared towards primary care physicians. In the introductory paragraph, I found the following statement:

“Managing menopausal health requires an ongoing effort to keep up with date with data on medical management of menopausal symptoms and treatments designed to prevent a number of disabling conditions associated with menopause and aging…”

Delving deeper,  I found only eight paragraphs devoted to alternative therapies (namely, phytogestrogens, black cohosh and bioidentical hormones). What jumps out on the one full page on which they are reviewed are statements such as:

“…controversy regarding long-term safety issues.” (black cohosh)

“…these same hormones are used in less expensive, FDA-approved estrogen products.” (bioidentical hormones)

“…evidence to date suggests that phytoestrogens do not ameliorate hot flushes or other menopausal symptoms. In addition there are not data to support the safety of long-term therapy with phytoestrogens and other herbal medications.” (phytoestrogens).

I’ve got a few bones to pick.

1. Historically, controlled studies with herbal preparations have been underfunded and undersupported by national institutions in this country, which is why the Western practitioner often claims “scant evidence.” Yet, if you do a search on alternative therapies on PubMed, there appears to be a growing interest in their utility and an increasing amount of time and resources devoted to studying them. Studies are published regularly in peer-reviewed journals such as Menopause. I’ve blogged about controlled evidence on a regular basis for months now. And, even the Nationa l Institutes of Health is in on the act; with trials currently underway evaluating the role of meditation, soy estrogens, herbal alternatives (e.g. black cohosh, red clover) for menopausal symptoms.
2. The controversy over long-term safety issues and black cohosh is being seriously addressed. I blogged about this only a week ago, noting that the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements has publicly stated that millions of individuals have safely used black cohosh with no ill effects.
3. The North American Menopause Society-sponsored monograph highlights several advantages that bioidentical/compounded hormones might offer over conventional products, including greater dosing flexibility, lower doses for women who are especially sensitive and the avoidance of potential allergens.

The primer to which I refer was developed specifically to help primary care physicians understand the challenges that their menopausal patients face so that they can provide better care. However, the monograph does a great disservice by its sole emphasis on Western medical approaches verses Eastern whole-body approaches.

Physicians- if you’re listening, hear this:

MENOPAUSE IS NOT A DISEASE AND SHOULDN’T BE TREATED OR APPROACHED AS ONE.

A few thoughts:

• Please review your data, read alternative peer-reviewed journals and educate yourselves about  alternatives for your patients who have been scared off by the negative findings surrounding HRT and antidepressants and other pharmaceuticals.
• Pay attention to the fact that well-respected journals such as Menopause and Climacteric and the Journal of the British Menopause Society actually devote pages to alternative therapies that have been evaluated in well-controlled studies.
• Embrace multidisciplinary collaboration and invite educated and credentialled alternative practitioners into your fold who might be able to offer you and your patients important solutions when Western ways fail.

Over 5,000 women enter menopause daily. Many of these women are going to call on your for help with managing this very natural transition that we call the menopause. Why not take a moment and meet the challenge without pigeonholing it?

Thoughts anyone?

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Posted by Liz on Sep 3, 2008 in Meditation/mindfulness therapy, stress, women's health | 1 comment

[Credit: Sailingscuttlebutt.com]

A friend wrote to me recently and mentioned that a clinical psychologist had told her that she is seeing more and more patients who are entering early menopause. The cause? Apparently, stress has something to do with it.

Another myth to debunk? Or is there something to this?

I found two studies in the American Journal of Epidemiology whose findings appear to suggest a role for stress in predicting an earlier age at menopause. Yikes!

In the first study, published in 1997, researchers sought to identify factors that might determine age at which menopause would start. They studied the effects of demographics, reproduction history, number and length of stressful events (i.e. those occurring within the last 6 months and those lasting longer than 6 months) and other health factors. 185 women were studied for approximately 8 years.

The findings showed that earlier age at menopause was associated with women reporting irregular menstrual periods in their 40s, who smoked, were African Americans or on diets. More importantly, however, stress predicted earlier menopause in both women who were African American and in women who reported having irregular periods.

In the second study, published in 2007, French researchers examined the potential role of occupational factors in determining the age at which a woman started menopause.  Using several statistical models, the results showed that among the 1,594 women studied, earlier age of menopause was associated with having a high-strain job and difficult schedules. Additionally, earlier menopause was associated with smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day.

Taken together, these data, in more than 1,600 women, show that there are indeed, certain factors that play a role in prompting an earlier menopause. Stress clearly has a part to play.

I’ve written previously about stress and its role in menopausal symptoms, as well as steps that can be taken to lessen stressors in our daily lives.  They include yoga, acupunture, reiki, deep breathing exercises, and of course, meditation.

While we might not be able to alter the course of history, we might be able to insure that the path is a bit smoother going forward. In this particular situation, being an early bird is indeed, a good thing for years that follow.

I Got All My Sisters And Me…

Posted by Liz on Aug 31, 2008 in women's health | 2 comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ2L4iPvdIk]

Last week, I posted a piece about the importance of friendships and social support to our lives. Researchers agree that during the menopausal transition, the ability to nurture and nourish ties, coupled with overall satisfaction with that work, significantly predicts well-being.

A subset of 334 women from the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study were evaluated over a period of 8 years to determine the association between factors such as frequency and severity of hot flashes, hormone levels, number of negative life events and resources pertaining to mastery over and satisfaction with social support and overall well-being.

Study findings showed that for the majority, the menopause transition itself was not a predictor of well-being. Rather, when considered within a broader life context, one primary factor stood out – personal resources as they pertain to social support.

Undoubtedly, menopause can wreak havoc on our lifestyles, the way that we feel about ourselves and at times, the ability or inability to cope. ‘Tending and befriending,’  nurturing our personal relationships,  communicating to one another when we need help, finding a shoulder to cry on or simply offering a hug not only reaffirms who we are but can also provide an essential foundation to see us through.

One of my favorite Aristotle quotes is this one:

What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies.

Cherish your soul today.  Call or email a friend. Reach out to a family member you’ve not spoken to in awhile. Say hello to that neighbor you’ve been meaning to talk to but never find the time to. Mostly, take the time to well, take the time. You’ll be glad you did.