By NewsGram Staff Writer

In a new study of breast cancer patients being treated with estrogen-targeting therapies, it has been proved that Acupuncture is a viable remedy for hot flashes.

The researchers analysed how effectively an acupuncture technique known as electroacupuncture – in which embedded needles deliver weak electrical currents – reduces incidents of hot flashes as compared to the epilepsy drug gabapentin, which was previously shown to be effective in reducing hot flashes for these patients.

The study was carried out by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, involving 120 breast cancer survivors, who reported experiencing multiple hot flashes per day.

"Acupuncture is an exotic therapy, elicits the patient's active participation, and involves a greater patient-provider interaction, compared with taking a pill," said lead researcher Jun J. Mao, M.D., associate professor of family medicine and community health.

The Pensylvanian researchers surveyed the subjects sixteen weeks after treatment ended, and found that the electroacupuncture and sham electroacupuncture groups had enjoyed a sustained–and even slightly increased–abatement of hot flashes. The pill-placebo patients also reported a slight improvement in symptoms, whereas the gabapentin pill group reported a worsening.

Apart from reduction in hot flashes, participants receiving acupuncture also reported fewer side effects than those who took the pill.