US Pharm. 2013;38(11):6.
Chicago, IL—Menopausal women experience half as many hot flashes after receiving a chronic pain treatment, according to investigators at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The nerve block treatment interrupts the part of the brain that regulates temperature, reducing moderate-to-severe hot flashes and alleviating depression. Of 40 patients aged 30 to 65 years with at least 25 hot flashes per week, 20 received a stellate ganglion injection with a local anesthetic, and the rest received placebo. All patients recorded their daily number of hot flashes and were followed for 6 months. Besides the 50% improvement in hot flashes in treated patients, there was a 30% decrease in depression and a 10% improvement in verbal learning.
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