Clinical observation on treating menopause syndrome with acupuncture therapy

Objective: To study the clinical effect and the endocrine mechanism of acupuncture therapy on menopause syndrome. Method: There were 47 cases with menopause syndrome, which were divided into two groups, 32 cases in the acupuncture group, treated by acupuncture with main acupoins of Shenshu (BL 23), Zusanli (ST 36) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6), and 15 cases in the control group, treated by orally taking the Oryzanol. The Kupperman index of the two groups was observed before and after treatment for evaluating the therapeutic effect. The changes of blood-serum E2, T, FSH, LH of the 25 cases in the acupuncture group were tested by radioimmunoassay before and after the treatment. Results: The acupuncture therapy can relieve the clinical symptoms of menopause syndrome, and its therapeutic effect was better than Oryzanol. After being treated by acupuncture therapy, the content of blood-serum E2 obviously increased, while the contents of LH and T declined, and the FSH also had a tendency to lower, but it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The therapeutic effect of acupuncture therapy for menopause is confirmed. The acupuncture therapy can improve the function of hypophysial-gonadal axis of the patient with menopause syndrome, which may be the main mechanism of the acupuncture therapy for treating menopause syndrome. © Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2009.