Nerve block treatment could 'reduce menopause-related hot flashes'

Women going through menopause could benefit from a new technique that has been found to reduce hot flashes, which are a common symptom. A new trial has found that hot flashes can be cut by injecting anesthetic close to a nerve bundle in the neck.

Published online in the North American Menopause Society's (NAMS) journal 'Menopause', the controlled randomised study has found that this simple technique could offer relief to women that are experiencing the menopause. It could be particularly helpful as an alternative form of treatment for those that do not wish to take medications of hormones.

Undertaken by the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, both within the US, the study looked at 40 women that were experiencing moderate to severe hot flashes as a result of the menopause. They either received an injection of plain saline as a placebo or a stellate ganglion block, which is the injection of small amounts of anesthetic next to the nerve bundle in the neck.

Two weeks before the treatment and following it, the women took diaries in order to record how severe their hot flashes were. Skin conductance monitors were also worn for 24 hours three months after the study and at its start. These monitors measured any hot flashes in an objective way, while the women recorded how they severe they felt their flashes to be. 

It was found that, on average, the women experienced ten flashes each day, with two-thirds of these being classed as moderate to severe. Moderate flashes were classed as those that lasted for up to 15 minutes and that came alongside symptoms such as tense muscles, dry mouth, perspiration, clammy skin and rapid heartbeat. Hot flashes that lasted for up to 20 minutes and resulted in weakness, extreme perspiration, heart irregularities, "raging furnace" heat and feeling faint were classed as severe.

Although it was found that between four and six months after treatment there was no significant difference between the number of hot flashes experienced by those that received the anesthetic and those that had a placebo, moderate to severe hot flashes were reduced by 52 per cent in those that had the actual treatment. This is compared to a drop of only four per cent in those that received the placebo. 

The intensity of hot flashes was also found to drop by 38 per cent within those that received the nerve block, while only an eight per cent decline was seen in placebo patients.