Herbal Alternatives for Menopause Symptoms (HALT Study)

Summary

Surveys indicate that 25 to 33% of women have moderate to severe menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, and disturbed sleep. The treatment of choice in the medical community for these symptoms is hormone replacement therapy, which is estrogen and sometimes progestin. Many women also use over-the-counter herbal remedies. However, less is known about how well these products work, or their safety. Few have undergone the kind of rigorous testing required of prescription drugs and little is known about their long-term effectiveness in relieving symptoms. The purpose of this study is to compare several over-the-counter herbal remedies to hormone replacement therapy. Our primary aim is to look at the effects of these remedies on your self-reported menopausal symptoms. We will also be measuring their effects on other factors known to be affected by hormone replacement therapy: cholesterol, blood sugar, bone density, vaginal cell structure, and blood clotting.

Timeline

Start

2001-06

Primary completion

—

Completion

2004-09

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper Vasomotor symptoms per day, symptom intensity, Wiklund Vasomotor Symptom Subscale score did not differ between the herbal interventions and placebo PMID 17179056 ↗

Publications

• Newton KM, Reed SD, LaCroix AZ, Grothaus LC, Ehrlich K, Guiltinan J. Treatment of vasomotor symptoms of menopause with black cohosh, multibotanicals, soy, hormone therapy, or placebo: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006 Dec 19;145(12):869-79. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-145-12-200612190-00003.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.