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Hypnotic Relaxation
Therapy Minimizes Hot Flashes
With an estimated 85 percent of women experiencing hot
flashes as they approach menopause, finding effective non-medication
treatment is vitally important. A new Baylor University study shows
hypnotic relaxation therapy can decrease the frequency and severity of
hot flashes in menopausal women. Interference from hot flashes, like
loss of sleep and social interaction difficulties, also significantly
decreased in the majority of women who received hypnosis.
The research was published online this week in The Journal
of Clinical Oncology.
"This study validates that this type of treatment is effective
in decreasing hot flashes," said Dr. Gary Elkins, professor of
psychology and neuroscience at Baylor and a lead investigator on the
project. "There is a real need to study emerging mind-body
interactions to treating these ailments because many times medications
are not an option."
In the study, 26 women who are breast cancer survivors received
hypnotic relaxation therapy and were compared to 25 other breast
cancer survivors who did not receive treatment. The women who received
hypnosis reported a 68 percent decrease in hot flashes. Anxiety,
depression and insomnia also decreased.
Breast cancer survivors were chosen because the medications
that are given to these women to help prevent the reoccurrence of
breast cancer often times cause them to go into menopause in a matter
of days. Furthermore, hormone replacement therapy is not an option
because of an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence associated
with hormone therapy, thus creating a need for alternative mind-body
treatments.
Based on the results of this study, Elkins has received a $2.6
million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a much
broader study that will significantly increase the scope and number of
patients participating. The grant is the largest ever awarded by NIH
for this type of research.
The new study will enlist 180 post-menopausal women who entered
menopause naturally and are experiencing hot flashes. Half of the
patients will receive hypnotic treatment while the other half will
receive another mind-body intervention. Those who receive hypnotic
relaxation therapy will get five 45-minute therapy sessions and will
also learn self-hypnosis techniques. The study will measure whether
the frequency and severity of hot flashes decrease and whether there
is an actual physiological response to the therapy. Researchers also
will look at other physiologic markers, like stress hormone levels, to
see if they decrease.
"It will be a large, randomized, clinical trial that will
further evaluate the effectiveness and help us understand how it is
working," Elkins said. "We will also know who this treatment works
best for."
The study will take about five years to complete.
Baylor University
1 Bear Pl., #97024
Waco, TX 76798-7024
United States
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