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probably to do with this article in the age:



Red faces for Novogen in US
July 10 2003
By Michelle Fay Cortez
Boston





US researchers have cast doubt on the effectiveness of Novogen's red-clover supplements Promensil and Rimostil. They do not prevent menopausal hot flushes any more effectively than a placebo in the largest study of the extracts, the researchers found.

"Red-clover supplements have no clinically important effect in reducing menopause symptoms for women," Jeffrey Tice, lead researcher and adjunct professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, said in an interview. "I wouldn't recommend women spend their money in this way."

The study, funded by Sydney-based Novogen, appears in the July 9 Journal of the American Medical Association. Novogen officials defended the products, which they said were effective in more than a dozen other studies.

As much as 80 per cent of women in the US, Australia and other Western countries had hot flushes during menopause, when hormone production slowed, the researchers said.

The most potent treatment is hormone replacement, such as Wyeth's Prempro, which has been linked to heart disease and cancer.
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The Tice researchers studied 252 women who reported an average of 10 hot flushes a day. All of the women had about three fewer hot flushes a day after 12 weeks, the study found.

Hot flushes ebbed with time, Professor Tice said. Wearing loose cotton clothes and avoiding caffeine and spicy foods, might reduce severity and frequency. Exercise, weight loss and anti-depressants might help.

"We're not happy with this result," said Warren Lancaster, Novogen's vice-president for North America. "But once people hear the complete picture and the full range of benefits, I think it should have a positive effect."

Claude Hughes, an expert in alternative treatments for menopausal symptoms from Duke University Medical School, said the product was safe, and it might offer some relief. He was not involved in the study.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/09/1057430273920.html