Medical Reports: Change of Treatment

WSVN -- Hot flashes ...

Angela: "It's like somebody's just opened up your own little personal sauna."

Mood swings ...

Pam: "I was crying all the time, sobbing and really couldn't tell you why."

The change of life brings many unwelcome changes for women.

In the past, hormone replacement therapy was used to treat the symptoms of menopause.

But HRT can increase the risk for cancer, stroke and heart attack, leaving women without a safe option.

Dr. Deborah Grady: "What we're looking for is a treatment that would work and, at the same time, be safe."

Now researchers may have found one -- an all-natural therapy called MF-101.

It's a pill designed to stop night sweats and hot flashes.

Dr. George Sawaya: "It's a combination of Chinese herbs, 22 of them. We don't know exactly how they work. As you can imagine with anything that has 22 herbs, it's very hard to pinpoint the exact mechanism of action."

The herbs have been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine, but, until now, they have never been tested for safety or to see if they work to treat menopause.

But a new study indicates the pills do seem to help.

MF-101 improved menopause symptoms for patients by 30 percent.

And researchers say it's safer than HRT because it doesn't affect reproductive hormones or promote tumor growth, suggesting it will not increase the risk of cancer.

Forty-six-year-old Monique Louvigy is one of the women participating in the study.

She says she's already seen a difference.

Monique: "I could obviously benefit from this but also everybody else who is my age."

Hopefully in the future menopause won't be such an unwelcome change for women.