NCCAM Clinical Digest
National Institutes of Health • National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The NCCAM Clinical Digest is a monthly e-newsletter that summarizes the state of the science on complementary health practices and a health condition (diabetes, cancer, sleep disorders, etc.)—clinical guidelines, literature searches, research highlights, and information for patients.
In each issue, you'll find evidence-based information for several complementary health practices used for the highlighted condition.
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Menopausal Symptoms and Complementary Health Practices
Menopause is the permanent end of a woman’s menstrual periods. Menopause occurs naturally, or it can be caused by surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. Various natural products or mind and body practices are sometimes used in an effort to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.
A 2005 NIH State-of-the-Science conference panel on the management of menopause-related symptoms noted the overall shortage of well-designed research on complementary health practices for menopausal symptoms. Since then, a number of additional studies and systematic reviews have been published. Evidence on the effects of mind and body practices for menopausal symptoms holds promise; however, scientists have found little evidence that natural products, such as herbs and other dietary supplements, are helpful.
This issue of the digest builds on findings from the NIH State-of-the-Science conference, with updates to reflect new developments.
