Genetic Predictors: Response to treatment of Hot Flashes with Acupuncture

A hot flash is the sudden feeling of warmth in the upper body, which is usually most intense over the face, neck and chest. Hot flashes occur when decreased estrogen levels cause your body's thermostat (hypothalamus) to become more sensitive to slight changes in body temperature. When the hypothalamus thinks your body is too warm, it starts a chain of events - a hot flash, to cool you down.¹ Hot flashes are the most common symptom of menopause and perimenopause. More than two-thirds of women who are heading into menopause experience hot flashes.

Hormone therapy has frequently been recommended for relief of hot flushes, but concerns about it's health risks have encouraged women to seek alternative treatments. In recent years, it has been suggested that acupuncture may reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes. Acupuncture is a treatment derived from ancient Chinese medicine, where fine needles are inserted at certain points in the body. Accupuncture has been found to be effective for many health conditions with very few side effects. ² A small study published in the BMJ suggested that: "Standardised and brief acupuncture treatment produced a fast and clinically relevant reduction in moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms". ³

Some other studies found that women who try acupuncture may have less frequent and severe hot flashes, but some experts think this could be due to a placebo effect. ⁴ Six trials have compared acupuncture treatment to placebo acupuncture. One of these studies using a nonpenetrating placebo needle found a significant difference in the severity outcomes of hot flashes between groups. ⁵

A randomized controlled trial on hot flashes among breast cancer survivors, found that women who were carriers of certain variants in the ADORA1, COMT or TCL1A genes, were more likely to respond to acupuncture for hot flashes than noncarriers. ⁶ ADORA1 is a neuromodulator gene with inhibitory function, such as anti-nociceptive properties. ⁷

Related to:
Accupuncture, HRT, Menopause