An innovative, hormone-free therapy has been found to be effective for the treatment of hot flashes, according to an article published in the May 2007 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Medical Hypotheses. This is good news for millions of women whose quality of life can be wrecked by these sudden feelings of intense heat, often accompanied by heavy perspiration, dizziness and sleep deprivation.
"Stellate ganglion blocks (SGB), injections of local anesthetic into nerve tissue located in the neck, have been extensively and safely used since 1940 to treat severe pain. We've now shown this treatment also offers remarkable relief from hot flashes that can result from menopause or cancer treatment," says board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management expert Eugene G. Lipov, M.D., Medical Director of the Chicago area-based Advanced Pain Centers (painmngt), who headed the research team.
"We hypothesize that the stellate ganglion block provides relief from hot flashes by allowing the body temperature control and perception to reset and function normally. By injecting an anesthetic (the same as used in an epidural during childbirth) into the right-side C6 ganglion in the neck, we are resetting the thermoregulating signals of the hypothalamus and the insular cortex in the brain, thus reducing, and possibly eliminating, hot flashes," said Dr. Lipov (see fig 1). "Nineteen out of twenty patients had at least an 80 percent decrease in hot flashes for a period of two weeks to a year, following SGB. Additionally, some of my patients have reported that not only have their hot flashes and insomnia been totally relieved or substantially reduced, they have also reported a restoration of sexual arousal and function ." The youngest patient successfully treated was 36, and the oldest was 69.
"SGB is a welcome treatment for women facing debilitating hot flashes," notes Dr. Linda Holt, Associate Professor, clinical obstetrics and gynecology, Northwestern University
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), hot flashes are experienced by about 75% percent of women during menopause, and can also occur in pre-menopausal women who have had surgeries or medical conditions that result in the cessation of menstruation. Hot flashes can last years, cause sleep disturbances as well as extreme physical discomfort, and severely impact quality of life. The only proven relief in the past has been hormone replacement therapy ???" not an option for breast cancer survivors and women concerned about possible long term health risks. Many of the drug alternatives to HRT for treating hot flashes have not proven to be very effective, and moreover, carry risks of unwanted side effects such as weight gain, drowsiness, sexual dysfunction and even suicide.
Dr. Lipov is currently undertaking an Institutional Review Board (IRB) clinical study collecting and quantifying the effectiveness and duration of the block on breast cancer survivors.
Bianca Kennedy is one of the women who found dramatic relief from hot flashes, thanks to SGB. A breast cancer survivor, she suffered over 25 episodes of hot flashes a day, turning red and sweating uncontrollably. In fact, her hot flashes were so debilitating that she decided to have six months of chemotherapy rather than take tamoxifen to treat her breast cancer, because tamoxifen is known to trigger hot flashes or make them worse. "My quality of life with the hot flashes was practically nonexistent," Bianca, now 41, recalls.
Her first stellate ganglion block injection relieved her of hot flashes for a month. The second treatment lasted three months, and the third, her last, has kept her hot flash-free for the past 18 months. "I can honestly say these treatments have been life changing," she says. "I'm anxious to spread the word to other women so they don't have to suffer with hot flashes any more."
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