Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, 581 85 Linköping, Sweden.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:579321. doi: 10.1155/2012/579321. Epub 2011 Oct 26.
The mechanisms behind hot flashes in menopausal women are not fully understood. The flashes in women are probably preceded by and actually initiated by a sudden downward shift in the set point for the core body temperature in the thermoregulatory center that is affected by sex steroids, β-endorphins, and other central neurotransmitters. Treatments that influence these factors may be expected to reduce hot flashes. Since therapy with sex steroids for hot flashes has appeared to cause a number of side effects and risks and women with hot flashes and breast cancer as well as men with prostate cancer and hot flashes are prevented from sex steroid therapy there is a great need for alternative therapies. Acupuncture affecting the opioid system has been suggested as an alternative treatment option for hot flashes in menopausal women and castrated men. The heat loss during hot flashes may be mediated by the potent vasodilator and sweat gland activator calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) the concentration of which increases in plasma during flashes in menopausal women and, according to one study, in castrated men with flushes. There is also evidence for connections between the opioid system and the release of CGRP. In this paper we discuss acupuncture as a treatment alternative for hot flashes and the role of CGRP in this context.
绝经后女性热潮红的背后机制尚不完全清楚。女性的热潮红可能是由体温调节中枢内核心体温设定点的突然下降引发的，而这一设定点受到性激素、β-内啡肽和其他中枢神经递质的影响。影响这些因素的治疗方法可能有望减少热潮红。由于治疗热潮红的性激素似乎会引起许多副作用和风险，而且患有热潮红和乳腺癌的女性以及患有前列腺癌和热潮红的男性被禁止接受性激素治疗，因此非常需要替代疗法。有人提出，针刺影响阿片系统可能是绝经后妇女和去势男性热潮红的一种替代治疗选择。热潮红期间的热量损失可能是由强效血管扩张剂和汗腺激活剂降钙素基因相关肽（CGRP）介导的，在绝经后女性的热潮红期间，以及根据一项研究，在去势男性的热潮红期间，血浆中 CGRP 浓度增加。阿片系统与 CGRP 释放之间也存在联系。本文讨论了针刺作为热潮红的一种替代治疗方法，以及 CGRP 在这方面的作用。
