Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit compared acupuncture to a proven remedy — the drug Effexor, an antidepressant that has been shown to significantly reduce hot flashes in breast cancer patients.

The results were striking. Acupuncture relieved hot flashes just as well as Effexor, with fewer side effects. The acupuncture recipients reported more energy and even an increased sex drive, compared with women using Effexor.

“There are some things you can’t study the same way we do with drugs,” said Dr. Eleanor M. Walker, director of breast radiation oncology at the Henry Ford Health System. “The thing that can’t be argued in my study is the duration of the effect. It lasts, and the placebo effect doesn’t last once you stop a treatment.”

Read more about the Acupuncture study www.jco.ascopubs.org