Top in women’s health: Virtual reality, hypnosis may help treat hot flashes

Menopausal women experiencing hot flashes may find relief from “visiting” a snowy landscape via a virtual reality headset, according to a speaker at the Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society.

Although there is little empirical evidence demonstrating that virtual reality (VR) therapies can manage menopause symptoms, VR has been shown to be effective in administering cognitive behavioral therapy for various health conditions. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles are currently designing a VR experience that combines cognitive behavioral therapy with an immersive experience to help rewire how the brain experiences a hot flash.

“The mind is medicine,” Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, the George and Dorothy Gourrich Chair in Digital Health Ethics and professor of medicine and public health at Cedars-Sinai, told Healio. “This is an easy thing to say — and it sounds a little woo-woo — but the brain and the body are connected. They coevolve with one another.”

It was the top story in women’s health last week.

In another top story, clinical hypnosis may be more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy for reducing hot flash severity and frequency in menopausal women, according to a meta-analysis.

Read these and more top stories in women’s health below:

‘The mind is medicine’: How virtual reality can cool bothersome hot flashes

For menopausal women experiencing disruptive, bothersome hot flashes, some relief may come from visiting a snowy landscape by slipping on a virtual reality headset, according to a speaker at the Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society. Read more.

Clinical hypnosis consistently halved menopausal hot flash frequency, severity

A meta-analysis suggests clinical hypnosis is more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy for reducing hot flash frequency and severity for menopausal women, researchers said at the Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society. Read more.

Stress, infertility ‘interwoven’ in PCOS, but treatments may improve odds for pregnancy

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome have a higher likelihood of experiencing infertility and subfertility, which can harm mental health and trigger stress, but not everyone with this disorder will require assisted reproduction to conceive. Read more.

Higher BMI in women, men tied to longer time to pregnancy, increased miscarriage odds

BMI in the overweight or obese range for both women and men during preconception or early pregnancy was linked to time to pregnancy success and miscarriage risk, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open. Read more.

Economic burden of ovarian cancer can exceed $200,000 per year, based on treatment phase

Ovarian cancer care costs are considerable, varying by care phase, age and geographic region, with the highest costs observed at initiation of and end-of-life care, researchers reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Read more.