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Holistic Arkansas, reaches 8,000 unique visitors each month AND includes/updates both holistic practitioners and events each month, too- a winning combination! Contact Lisa Armstrong at 501-425-5377, or lisa@holisticarkansas.com. NEW NIH RESEARCH INITIATIVE TO TEST TREATMENTS FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS 17 Sept. 2008 Women troubled by hot flashes and night sweats during the years around menopause want safe, effective treatment options. A new research initiative from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will establish a multisite research network to conduct clinical trials of promising treatments for the most common symptoms of the menopausal transition. The initiative -- Menopause Strategies: Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health will be coordinated by several centers and will collectively receive approximately $4.4 million each year of the initiative, which is projected to run for five years. "Studies such as the Women's Health Initiative, which raised concerns about the safety of using menopausal hormone therapy, underscore the urgent need for treatments that have been proven safe and effective for alleviating menopausal symptoms," said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. Five clinical research centers will test a variety of approaches for treating menopausal symptoms. Possible treatments to be studied during the five-year project period include: -- Antidepressants such as paroxetine (Paxil) or escitalopram (Lexapro) -- Paced respiration (slow deep breathing also known as relaxation breathing) -- Yoga -- Low-dose estradiol patch and low-dose estradiol gel -- Exercise programs, both moderate and vigorous "For decades, estrogen with or without progesterone has been the treatment of choice for relieving menopause-related symptoms because of the lack of alternative therapies of comparable proven efficacy," noted Sherry Sherman, Ph.D., NIA project scientist for the Menopause Strategies Network. "This collaborative, multidisciplinary, multicenter approach will enable researchers to test other options-including behavioral and complementary and alternative medicine approaches-to determine whether they are also effective against hot flashes." The NIA leads the federal effort supporting and conducting research on aging and the medical, social and behavioral issues of older people. For more information on menopause, go to Menopause: Time for a Change: http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/Menopause/. or call toll free 800-222-2225. The information on Holistic Arkansas is intended to help you with your goal of health and wellness. Be Well, Jim and Lisa Armstrong Holistic Arkansas, LLC |