By Bonnie Jenkins, Advanced Natural Wellness

There aren’t a lot of things that surprise me, but a new study from the Mylan School of Pharmacy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh certainly did. According to the conclusions made by the study’s authors, black cohosh, an herb used by thousands of menopausal women (including myself), could trigger the spread of breast cancer.

Over the past year, we’ve been inundated with the dangers of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As a result, women and their doctors have been searching for natural ways to relieve their menopausal symptoms. So this news about a popular HRT alternative is the last thing any of us need to hear.

Just Another Cancer Scare

The black cohosh study was funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the findings were presented at the 94th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington D.C. So it sounds credible enough on the surface. But this study deserves a second look for three reasons: 1) the lab research the study was based on was exploratory in nature; 2) the study is open to interpretation and requires further analysis to fully understand the results; and 3) the researchers used a controversial animal model that scientists recently determined needs more evaluation before it can be used to assess risk in humans.
In the study, the Duquesne team fed an extract of black cohosh to mice specially bred to develop mammary tumors. The daily dose was comparable to 40 mg. of the herb – about the amount a woman would take to relieve menopausal symptoms. After a year, they concluded that black cohosh significantly increased the number of tumors that spread to the lung, suggesting that the herb might make mammary tumors more aggressive.

But the study was flawed from the get go – which makes the comments  the researchers made during the presentation just that much more outrageous. According to the study’s lead author, Vicki Davis, PhD, “Although it is unfortunate to be eliminating another option for women needing therapies to relieve menopausal symptoms, our findings suggest that women who may be at high risk of having an undetected breast tumor and certainly those who do have breast cancer should proceed with great caution – or simply avoid – taking black cohosh.”

This irresponsible statement oversteps the bounds of good research. But the real shame is that this is the study you’ll be hearing about. However there’s another, largely ignored study that came out about the same time as the Duquesne study that confirms the safety of black cohosh.

The Bigger Picture

This other study – the one you haven’t heard about – is quite possibly the most comprehensive scientific review of black cohosh ever conducted. And its findings are in stark contrast to the Duquesne report: that black cohosh is a safe treatment for women with menopausal symptoms – even for those with breast cancer.

The study, which appeared in Menopause: Journal of the North American Menopause Society, is the first to review all of the published literature on black cohosh, including adverse event reports from the FDA and the World Health Organization. Also included in the review were clinical trials of women at risk for breast cancer and breast cancer survivors, as well as human cell lines most relevant to breast cancer.

In human clinical trials, uncontrolled reports and post-launch evaluations of over 2,800 patients, the review found a low incidence of adverse events with black cohosh – 5.4 percent. Of the reported adverse events, 97 percent were minor and didn’t result in discontinuation of therapy. In the three percent of patients who experienced severe events, the researchers found that these were not related to black cohosh, but to some other factor.

What’s more, the review notes that black cohosh has no effect on hormone levels or the growth of specific cell lines associated with some cancers. Unlike soy and red clover, which have weak estrogenic effects, black cohosh is one of the few non-estrogenic treatments for menopausal symptoms.

While these findings confirm the safety of using black cohosh, we’ve always known that it was effective. In fact, Native Americans discovered that the root of the black cohosh plant helped relieve menstrual cramps and symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, irritability, mood swings and sleep disturbances more than two centuries ago.

A dozen studies conducted throughout the 1980s and 1990s confirmed that the long-standing use of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms has scientific validity. For example, in a German study involving 629 women, black cohosh improved physical and psychological menopausal symptoms in more than 80 percent of the participants within four weeks. In a second study, 60 menopausal women were given black cohosh extract, conjugated estrogens or diazepam (a leading anti-anxiety medication) for three months. Those who received black cohosh reported feeling significantly less depressed and anxious than those who received either estrogens or diazepam. In another study, 80 menopausal women were treated for 12 weeks with black cohosh extract, conjugated estrogens or a placebo. Black cohosh improved anxiety and vaginal symptoms. In addition, the number of hot flashes dropped from an average of five a day to less than one in the black cohosh group compared to those taking estrogen.

So if you’re a menopausal woman looking for an HRT alternative for your hot flashes and mood swings, don’t pass up black cohosh based on flawed science. It may just give you the relief you’re looking for.

One Last Thing …

There’s been a lot of news on the breast cancer front lately, and I’ll be addressing much of it in an upcoming e-bulletin. But some new research caught my attention and I thought I’d pass it along because it points out one way we can all reduce our risk of breast cancer.

The findings are from the Nurses Health Study – the long-term look at the lifestyles of more than 90,000 female nurses that I’ve talked about in previous e-bulletins. In this particular segment of the study, the researchers questioned the nurses about their diet every two years from 1991 to 1999. During this eight-year period, 714 of the women developed breast cancer.

The researchers then divided those women into five groups based on their consumption of fatty foods like meat (beef, pork and lamb) and full-fat dairy products. What they found was that the women who ate the most meat and dairy were 33 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those who restricted their intake of these foods.

According to these findings, a 33 percent increased risk means that one in 20 cases of breast cancer is caused by overindulging in animal-fat. That translates to nearly 10,000 American women this year alone, based on estimates by the Cancer Society. The good news, however, is that this risk factor is easily avoided. Instead of a steak, choose chicken, turkey or fish. And if you eat dairy, switch to low-fat, or better yet, non-fat milk and cheese.

Research Brief …

If you are taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a new study may offer some hope. According to research recently published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, people with AD who take a daily dose of sage (Salvia officinalis) may experience improvements in memory and mental capacity, as well as a decrease in agitation.

In the new study, 30 adults between the ages of 65 and 85 with mild to moderate AD were randomly assigned to receive 60 drops of either a sage extract or a placebo every day for four months. The patients were assessed every two weeks using two rating scales (Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale and Clinical Dementia Rating) to measure the degree of impairment in various aspects of cognition, such as memory, orientation, judgment, problem-solving, speech and personal care. Higher scores suggest more severe impairment.

After 16 weeks, the patients taking the sage extract experienced significant improvements in cognition compared with those who took the placebo. Scores on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale increased by 22 percent in those taking the placebo, but decreased by 26 percent in the sage group. The placebo group also experience periods of agitation more often, suggesting that sage may have a beneficial effect on mood.

Alzheimer’s is one of the most frustrating diseases for both those who have it and their caregivers – and medical science seems to be moving at a snail’s pace to find effective ways to improve the symptoms, let alone find a cure. So, it’s heartening to hear of a natural remedy that may help to ease at least some of the agony that accompanies the disease.

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References:

Groshong K. “Fat raises risk of breast cancer by 33 percent, study says.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 16 July 2003.

“Research casts doubt on safety of black cohosh for women with breast cancer.” EurekAlert. 12 Jul 2003.

“Sage may be effective for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.” Healthnotes Newswire. 10 Jul 2003.

Tieraona LD, et al. “Critical evaluation of the safety of Cimicifuga racemosa in menopause symptom relief.” Menopause. 2003; 10:299-313.