Black Cohosh for hot flushes?

Black Cohosh for hot flushes?

The results of a recent study suggest that black cohosh is more effective for reducing menopausal symptoms of hot flushes and night sweats than fluoxetine. However, fluoxetine was more effective in improving symptoms of depression.

"The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of fluoxetine and black cohosh in the treatment of women with postmenopausal symptoms."

"At the end of the sixth month of treatment, black cohosh reduced the hot flush score by 85%, compared with a 62% result for fluoxetine. By the sixth month of the study, 40 women had discontinued the study--20 (33%) in the fluoxetine group and 20 (33%) in the black cohosh group. Compared with fluoxetine, black cohosh is more effective for treating hot flushes and night sweats. On the other hand, fluoxetine is more effective in improvements shown on Beck's Depression Scale."

Reference:
Oktem M, Eroglu D, Karahan HB, Taskintuna N, Kuscu E, Zeyneloglu HB. Black cohosh and fluoxetine in the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms: a prospective, randomized trial. Adv Ther. 2007 Mar-Apr;24(2):448-61.