abstracted & translated by
Honora Lee Wolfe, Lic. Ac., FNAAOM (USA)

Keywords: Chinese medicine, acupuncture, ear acupuncture, gynecology, psychiatry, menopausal syndrome

On pages 42-43 of issue #7, 2004 of Jiang Su Zhong Yi Yao (Jiangsu Chinese Medicine & Medicinals), Tang Bi-yi published an article titled, "A Clinical Audit of 47 Cases of Female Climacteric Syndrome with Acupuncture & Pressure Applied to Ear Points." A summary of this study is presented below.

Cohort description:

Altogether, there were 89 patients included in this study, all of whom suffered from menopausal syndrome and all of whom were 45-55 years of age. These patients had suffered from perimenopausal complaints for

from six months to seven years. Exclusion criteria included hypertension, coronary heart disease, psychiatric disease, hyperthyroidism, or urinary tract infection. The Chinese medical pattern discrimination was liver-kidney yin vacuity in 57 cases and kidney yang depletion and vacuity in 32 cases. The 89 patients were divided into three groups: 47 received acupuncture and applied ear point pressure, 21 only received acupuncture, and 21 only received ear pressure. The Kupperman Menopause Index (MI) was used to judge the severity of these women’s menopausal complaints, with zero equaling no complaints, one equaling mild complaints, two equaling moderate complaints, and three equaling severe complaints. Twelve different symptoms were analyzed before and after treatment using this index.

Treatment method:

Acupuncture consisted of needling Guan Yuan (CV 4), San Yin Jiao (Sp 6), Shen Shu (Bl 23), Bai Hui (GV 20), Shen Men (Ht 7), and Zu San Li (St 36). If there was liver-kidney yin vacuity, Tai Xi (Ki 3), Gan Shu (Bl 18), and Tai Chong (Liv 3) were added. If there was kidney yang depletion and vacuity, Pi Shu (Bl 20) and Ming Men (GV 4) were added. Forty millimeter fine needles were used to puncture these points using twisting and turning hand technique. After obtaining the qi, even supplementing-even draining technique was used, and needles were left in place for 30 minutes. One treatment was given every other day, and 10 treatments equaled one course.

Ear acupuncture consisted of applying adhesive-backed magnets to Kidney, Shen Men, Sympathetic, and Internal Secretion. If there was liver-kidney yin vacuity, Liver and Subcortex were added. If there was a kidney yang debility and vacuity, Heart, Spleen, and Ovary were added. These points were pressed 4-5 times per day, each time pressing them for 5-10 minutes. This resulted in making the skin surrounding these points red and hyperemic, hot, and painful. Every other day, the points were changed to the other opposite ear. Ten times equaling one course of treatment.

Study outcomes:

Marked effect meant that the MI was less than 20% of what it had been before treatment. Some effect meant that it was between 20-70% of what it had been, and no effect meant that it was more than 70% of what it had been. The following table shows these outcomes in each of the three groups.

These outcomes suggest that, although both acupuncture and ear point pressure alone can be effective for the treatment of perimenopausal complaints, the combination of both is significantly better. In addition, the following table shows the outcomes in the acupuncture and ear point pressure group divided according to Chinese medical pattern presentation.

Further, in the acupuncture and ear point pressure group, mean estradiol went from 45.23 " 18.05pmol/L before treatment to 81.26 " 27.63pmol/L after treatment. Mean LH went from 32.70 " 10.58IU/L to 15.96 " 8.24IU/L, and mean FSH went from 36.31 " 5.38IU/L to 20.76 " 4.36IU/L. No side effects or adverse reactions were seen in any of the three groups of patients.

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