Akupunktur Bekerja Lebih Efektif daripada Obat dalam Mengobati Hot Flashes (Rasa

panas di wajah)

Dalam sebuah studi yang dilakukan oleh para peneliti dari Henry Ford Hospital di
Detroit dan disajikan pada pertemuan American Society for Therapeutic Radiology
and Onkologi menyebutkan bahwa akupunktur mengungguli salah satu obat non-
hormonal yang paling umum diresepkan untuk mengatasi gejala menopause seperti
hot flashes (rasa panas di wajah).
"Sudah diuji secara langsung terhadap obat yang kita gunakan secara teratur. Dan
akupunktur lebih efektif," kata pemimpin peneliti Eleanor Walker. Akupunktur
adalah suatu bentuk pengobatan tradisional Cina yang memasukkan jarum ke titik-
titik kunci tertentu di dalam tubuh.

Para peneliti menetapkan 47 wanita dengan kanker payudara untuk menerima

pengobatan baik dengan antidepresan Effexor atau dengan akupunktur selama 12
minggu. Para peserta mencatat berapa banyak hot flashes (Rasa panas di wajah)
mereka alami sepanjang penelitian dan selama beberapa bulan kemudian, serta
keparahan yang ada pada mereka.

Gejala menopause seperti hot flashes (rasa panas di wajah) adalah efek samping
umum dari pengobatan kanker payudara. Gejala seperti ini sering diobati dengan
antidepresan karena terapi penggantian hormon dapat meningkatkan risiko kanker
kambuh. Kekhawatiran efek samping membuat banyak perempuan mengambil
obat-obatan ini.

Dalam penelitian, saat pasien menggunakan obat Effexor, mereka melaporkan

adanya efek samping seperti kecemasan, pusing, kelelahan, sakit kepala, tekanan
darah tinggi, mual dan kesulitan tidur. Sedangkan saat pasien menggunakan
akupunktur, dilaporkan tidak ada efek sampingnya. Lebih jauh lagi, efek obat
Effexor hanya berlangsung selama dua minggu setelah perawatan berakhir,
sedangkan akupunktur dapat bertahan lebih lama selama 15 minggu setelah akhir
pengobatan.

"Akupunktur memiliki efek yang lebih tahan lama," kata Walker. "Jika Anda harus
memberikan suatu pengobatan hot flashes (rasa panas di wajah) pada perempuan
yang membutuhkan perawatan tiga sampai empat kali setahun dan harus
mengkonsumsi pil setiap hari, maka akupunktur jauh lebih efektif jika dilihat dari
segi biaya pula."

Transleted and edited from :

http://www.naturalnews.com/025557_acupuncture_drugs_symptoms.html

Acupuncture Works Better Than Drugs for Treating Hot Flashes

(NaturalNews) Acupuncture outperformed one of the most common non-hormonal

drugs prescribed for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, in a study
conducted by researchers from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and presented at a
meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
"It's been tested directly against a drug that we use regularly. And it's more
effective," said lead researcher Eleanor Walker. "It has benefits, as opposed to any
side-effects."

Researchers assigned 47 female breast cancer patients to receive treatment either

with the antidepressant Effexor or with acupuncture for 12 weeks. The participants
recorded how many hot flashes they experienced throughout the course of the
study and for several months afterward, as well as their severity.

Acupuncture is a traditional form of Chinese medicine that involves inserting

needles into certain key points in the body.

Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes are common side effects of breast
cancer treatment. Such symptoms are often treated with antidepressants, since
hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk of cancer recurrence. Concern
over side effects, however, keeps many women from taking these drugs.

In the current study, Effexor patients reported side effects including anxiety,
dizziness, fatigue, headache, elevated blood pressure, nausea and sleeping trouble.
No negative side effects were reported from acupuncture, however, even though
the Chinese medicine was just as effective as the antidepressant at reducing the
number and severity of hot flashes.

Furthermore, while the effects of Effexor only lasted for two weeks after treatment
had ended, symptoms remained reduced for 15 weeks after the end of acupuncture
treatment.

"It was a more durable effect," Walker said. "If you only have to give women
treatment three to four times a year as opposed to having to take a pill every day,
that's going to be more cost-effective."

Effexor, marketed by Wyeth, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). It is

also known as venlafaxine.