Singer Duncan pins hopes on acupuncture

HYPNOSIS may be as effective as some drugs for one of the most common symptoms of the menopause, a study has found.

Women with hot flushes were treated with either hypnosis or venlafaxine, an antidepressant that is known to be beneficial.

During hypnosis, patients were given suggestions for mental imagery designed to minimise the intensity of their hot flushes.

The University of Michigan study found that both hypnosis and antidepressants produced a 50 per cent reduction in symptoms after eight weeks. HEART-disease patients who are overweight are more likely to survive a cardiac arrest, a study has discovered. US researchers looked at more than 550 patients with coronary heart disease who had suffered heart attacks between 2009 and 2015. They found that those with a BMI of 25 to 30 had a better survival rate than those of normal weight (a BMI of 18.5 to 25) and those who were obese – a BMI over 30. The research was carried out by David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles. HOLLYOAKS star Duncan James has turned to acupuncture to try to rid himself of the excruciating pain he suffers after spinal surgery last year. The former Blue singer, 38, left, had two operations for a slipped disc, but recovery didn’t go to plan. ‘I am on constant painkillers,’ he says. ‘I still limp and I can’t feel my left foot.’ His pain and long rehabilitation have forced him to give up his gym sessions, and he admits that his oncefamous six-pack is not what it was. He says: ‘I used to be a real gym bunny. Now I have put on a stone in weight and I can’t really exercise.’