Herbal Supplements No Help?
PHILADELPHIA - A well known herbal treatment named black cohosh is practically ineffective at relieving hot flashes and night sweats in women going through menopause, a study found.The findings were bad news for women looking for alternatives to estrogen-progestin hormone supplements, which have been connected to breast cancer and heart problems.
The yearlong study of 351 women suffering from hot flashes and night sweats found that those given black cohosh got about the same amount of relief as those who took a placebo. And those groups saw nothing close to the development in women on hormones.
“It’s disappointing news,” said Katherine Newton, an epidemiologist who helped pilot the study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. “It would be nice to offer something safe and effective.”
The study was conducted at Seattle-based Group Health, a health plan, and was published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Black cohosh - a herb that is a member of the buttercup family and is usually given to ease menopause symptoms — is available in pill or liquid type and is sold over the counter in many health food stores and over the Internet.
It is among a host of supplements including soy, wild yam, red clover and St. John’s wort that have been tried for relief of hot flashes and night sweats, but studies almost universally have found supplement don’t work.
Certain antidepressants have proved effective, and one company, Depomed Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., plans to seek the Food and Drug Administration’s approval to sell an anti-seizure drug, gabapentin, for release of hot flashes.
In the newest study, some participants were given black cohosh, while others received hormone supplements, a placebo or a botanical treatment that included black cohosh, alfalfa, licorice and ginseng.
Women taking the herbal treatments saw hot flashes reduced by only about half an episode per day match up to with those taking the placebo, the study found. Those who got hormone therapy reduced their hot flashes by about four episodes per day when compared with the placebo.
The yearlong study of 351 women suffering from hot flashes and night sweats found that those given black cohosh got about the same amount of relief as those who took a placebo. And those groups saw nothing close to the development in women on hormones.
“It’s disappointing news,” said Katherine Newton, an epidemiologist who helped pilot the study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. “It would be nice to offer something safe and effective.”
The study was conducted at Seattle-based Group Health, a health plan, and was published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Black cohosh - a herb that is a member of the buttercup family and is usually given to ease menopause symptoms — is available in pill or liquid type and is sold over the counter in many health food stores and over the Internet.
It is among a host of supplements including soy, wild yam, red clover and St. John’s wort that have been tried for relief of hot flashes and night sweats, but studies almost universally have found supplement don’t work.
Certain antidepressants have proved effective, and one company, Depomed Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., plans to seek the Food and Drug Administration’s approval to sell an anti-seizure drug, gabapentin, for release of hot flashes.
In the newest study, some participants were given black cohosh, while others received hormone supplements, a placebo or a botanical treatment that included black cohosh, alfalfa, licorice and ginseng.
Women taking the herbal treatments saw hot flashes reduced by only about half an episode per day match up to with those taking the placebo, the study found. Those who got hormone therapy reduced their hot flashes by about four episodes per day when compared with the placebo.
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