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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Verdana size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT
size=3><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial>Here is another excerpt from a
publication in Nutraingredients about the black cohosh study. It’s a
response from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:PersonName w:st="on">Mark
Blumenthal, ABC</st1:PersonName> and Daniel Fabricant, NPA about the
black cohosh study with the associated
website. </FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Verdana size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Black cohosh
same as placebo for hot flushes, says study</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Verdana
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR></SPAN></FONT><IMG
id=_x0000_i1026 height=5 src="cid:image001.gif@01C724E9.2B7CFD60"
width=200><BR><SPAN class=verdana93333331><FONT face=Verdana color=#333333
size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt">By Stephen
Daniells</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=Arial color=blue><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A
href="http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=72877-black-cohosh-herbal-supplements-hot-flushes">http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=72877-black-cohosh-herbal-supplements-hot-flushes</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">excerpt -
</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Verdana size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 8.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">However, <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Mark Blumenthal</st1:PersonName>, executive director of the American
Botanical Council, told Reuters Health that the design of the study was faulty
and pointed out that the results were inconsistent with the majority of science
about black cohosh and menopause. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><I><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"It is
definitely not the last word,"</SPAN></FONT></I><FONT face=Verdana><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> he said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Daniel Fabricant, vice president,
scientific affairs for the US-based trade association Natural Products
Association (NPA), echoed Blumenthal when he told NutraIngredients.com: <I><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic">"This study should not be determined as conclusive by
any stretch."</SPAN></I> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><I><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"Over 3,000
women have been randomized for clinical trials using black cohosh for
climacteric/vasomotor symptoms, and the weight of the evidence from those
studies has been overwhelmingly positive,"</SPAN></FONT></I><FONT
face=Verdana><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> he said.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><I><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"It is
disappointing that none of the data on the secondary outcomes of the study were
included in the article: vaginal cytology; serum lipids (total cholesterol, HDL
and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides); bone mineral density (hip and spine dual
energy x-ray absorptiometry scan); glucose metabolism (insulin, fasting blood
glucose); and coagulation factors (fibrinogen, PAI-1) would all provide valuable
information regarding both the botanicals and the risks that have been seen with
conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) in previous studies,"</SPAN></FONT></I><FONT
face=Verdana><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> said Fabricant.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">According to the American Herbal
Products Association's (AHPA) most recent Tonnage Survey of Select North
American Wild-Harvested Plants, the herb was the second most harvested plant,
with 159 tons from wild sources and 0.2 tons from cultivated
sources.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
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<DIV>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:
</B>Patricia_Ford@fws.gov<BR><B>Sent: </B>12/21/2006 9:10 AM<BR><B>To:
</B>mpwg@lists.plantconservation.org<BR><B>Subject: </B>[MPWG] Menopause Study:
Herbal Remedies Don't
Help<BR><BR><BR>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6642911<BR>Research
News<BR>Menopause Study: Herbal Remedies Don't Help<BR><BR><BR>(Embedded image
moved to file: pic28145.gif)Listen to this story...by<BR>Alison
Aubrey<BR><BR><BR>All Things Considered, December 18, 2006 · Many menopausal
women who are<BR>afraid that hormone replacement therapy could increase their
risk of breast<BR>cancer have turned to the herbal supplement black cohosh an
alternative in<BR>recent years.<BR><BR><BR>But a large, NIH-sponsored, carefully
controlled study published in the<BR>Annals of Internal Medicine Monday reports
that, unlike HRT, the supplement<BR>doesn't work to help hot flashes or other
menopausal symptoms.<BR><BR><BR>The study measured the effect of three different
combinations of black<BR>cohosh, an extract from the roots of a plant native to
North America. Lead<BR>researcher Katherine Newton, of the Group Health Center
for Health Studies<BR>in Seattle, says women in the study were randomly broken
down into several<BR>groups. Some received one of the black cohosh blends;
others took a<BR>placebo. None of them knew if they were getting the real thing
or not.<BR><BR><BR>At the end of the study, Newton says, "There was no
difference between the<BR>herbal supplements and placebo in relieving hot
flashes in women at any of<BR>our study points. And we looked at 3, 6 and 12
months."<BR><BR><BR>Newton says she went into the study with a very open mind.
The prior<BR>research on black cohosh was inconclusive. So she didn't know what
she'd<BR>find.<BR><BR><BR>"I wouldn't say it was either a surprise or not a
surprise," Newton says,<BR>"but it was disappointing.... It would have been nice
to find a therapy<BR>other than hormone therapy to help women through the
menopause transition."<BR><BR><BR>Doctors who specialize in treating the
symptoms of menopause say they're<BR>increasingly left with an empty bag of
tricks. Hormone therapy may be safe<BR>only at low doses for short periods of
time. And anti-depressants, while<BR>effective, often bring side
effects.<BR><BR><BR>Gynecologist Gail Greendale of UCLA says she is convinced by
the new study<BR>published today. But she points out that the study also found
that women in<BR>both the placebo and black cohosh groups experienced mild
relief -- up to<BR>two fewer hot flashes per day. Perhaps the relief is simply a
product of<BR>expectation, she says.<BR><BR><BR>"It points up an existential
question in medicine," Greendale says, "which<BR>is: If something works by a
placebo effect, should we just smile and say<BR>that's good -- and not complain
too much?" Greendale says that in the case<BR>of black cohosh, it's a tricky
call.<BR><BR><BR>Although total sales of the supplement run into the tens of
millions of<BR>dollars every year, there have never been any long-term studies
to<BR>determine whether its safe.</DIV></BODY></HTML>