Contact: Cora Neumann 212.342.0104 or email
c…@columbia.edu
Two New Studies – Now Recruiting
Columbia University’s Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine
Research in Aging & Women’s Health, New York-Presbyterian Medical Center, is
actively seeking healthy menopausal women, ages 45-72, for our herbal
medicine and macrobiotic diet studies. Both studies are a year-long and
include free bone-density and cardiovascular exams, mammograms, endothelial
function tests, EKGs, transvaginal ultrasounds, labwork, and more –
depending on the study. The diet study (Comparing Healthy Options in Cooking
and Eating, or CHOICE) includes free cooking classes and nutrition
counseling. Both studies include $300.00 compensation.
Info:
1) Healthy Menopausal Women Needed For Study On An Herbal Treatment for Hot
Flashes
If you are:
45 – 70 years old
Experiencing at least 5 Hot Flashes/day
Had your last period 12+ months ago
You may be eligible to participate in a research study to determine the
effects
of the herb Black Cohosh on hot flashes. Participants have a 50% chance
of
receiving either Black Cohosh or a placebo.
For More Information, Please Call:
(212) 543-9540
2) Healthy Menopausal Women Needed For A Healthy Diet Study
If you are:
50-72 years old
Had your last period 12+ months ago
You may be eligible to participate in a research study to determine the
effects
of three healty diets, including a macrobiotic-style diet, on
cardio-vascular health and bone density.
Study includes FREE COOKING CLASSES and nutrition counselling.
For More Information, Please Call:
(212) 342-0104
Background info. on both studies:
———————————–
These studies are part of an NIH-funded National Center for Complementary &
Alternative Medicine Specialty Center grant.
1) Macrobiotic Diet and Flaxseed: Effects on Estrogens, Phytoestrogens &
Fibrinolytic Factors
Exposure to relatively high levels of estrogens is associated with
increased risk of certain cancers,
especially breast and endometrial cancer, whereas it is also
associated with decreased risk of
cardiovascular diseases and increased bone density, therefore
decreasing the risk of debilitating
fractures. At the time of menopause, when endogenous estrogen
levels decline, many women in the
U.S. are prescribed hormone replacement therapy to ease menopausal
symptoms and decrease the
risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. However, because
of side effects and the possible
increased cancer risk, many women seek out alternatives to
conventional therapies. Phytoestrogens,
plant compounds that have estrogen agonist (and in some contexts,
antagonist) properties, have
attracted attention as possible alternatives to estrogen
medications. Questions are being raised about
whether and how phytoestrogens may confer the benefits of
pharmaceutical estrogen without the
risks.
The high phytoestrogen content of macrobiotic dietary patterns can
be attributed in part to the use of
traditional soy foods, but also results from the large consumption
of phytoestrogenic lignans, which
are found in whole grains, seeds, and various other plant foods.
While there has been a substantial
increase in research interest on the effects of soy foods and the
primary isoflavone constituents
genistein and daidzein, there has been comparatively little work
examining the effects of lignans. We
therefore are examining the influence of a macrobiotic diet or a
flax seed (lignan) supplementation
intervention on various biochemical and cardiovascular parameters
that may be influenced by
estrogens. We will also be assessing the feasibility of shifting
diets for a larger population.
Dietary Phytoestrogens and Bone Metabolism
Osteoporosis in older postmenopausal women is one of the most
important public health challenges
today. With millions of women affected and billions of dollars
being spent annually, we need to
develop effective approaches to prevent this disease. The standard
approach, long-term estrogen
replacement therapy, has not met with widespread success because
of concerns about adverse
consequences of long-term use, especially breast cancer. If
natural, dietary sources of substances
with estrogenic activity could prevent postmenopausal bone loss,
this would provide an important
alternative to hormone replacement therapy. The specific aim of
this project is to demonstrate the
effects of a macrobiotic diet, which contains the two major
sources of phytoestrogens, isoflavones
and lignans, on bone metabolism in postmenopausal women. To
successfully address this specific
aim, state-of-the-art approaches to measurement of markers of bone
formation and bone resorption
will be combined with highly sensitive measurement of bone mass.
It is expected that these studies
will establish a mechanistic framework within which to understand
the effects of phytoestrogens on
bone metabolism and bone mass, and whether natural dietary sources
can provide adequate
protection.
2) Effects of Black Cohosh on Menopausal Hot Flashes
Most American women will spend the last third of their lives
post-menopause, during which time the
chronically low levels of sex steroids, particularly estrogens,
may lead to a number of short and
long-term medical sequelae such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness,
heart disease and osteoporosis.
While some physicians believe that demonstrated beneficial effects
of estrogen, particularly on the
cardiovascular and skeletal system, warrant the taking of hormone
therapy after menopause, many
women choose not to take estrogen replacement therapy (ERT). They
are increasingly exploring
alternative approaches to ERT, which they hope will have
estrogen’s benefits without its potential
risks.
Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) has been used worldwide for
centuries for women’s health
and, in particular, for menopausal problems. Virtually all of the
clinical studies of black cohosh have
been conducted with one German product called Remifemin7. Despite
the long-standing use of
black cohosh, studies of black cohosh have yielded apparently
conflicting data with respect to its
possible estrogenic actions, in part because of lack in design
rigor, short duration of studies and
insufficient research. The primary aim of this study is to
determine whether treatment with black
cohosh is effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of
menopausal hot flashes and improving
other menopausal symptoms, and to begin to examine potential
adverse effects.
–
Patricia Ann Haring pa…@panix.com
http://www.enabling.org/staff.html/
"Every child smiles in the same language." – Anonymous
