A small Chinese study suggests that electro-acupuncture (EA) can normalise hormone levels and induce menstruation in women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI – a syndrome characterised by amenorrhoea, sex steroid deficiency and elevated gonadotrophin levels, occurring in women under the age of 40). A total of 11 women with POI were enrolled in a prospective consecutive case series study. Patients were treated with EA once a day, five times a week for the first four weeks, and once every other day, three times a week, for the following two months, and were then followed up for three months. Compared with baseline, patients’ serum prostaglandin E2 increased, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) decreased and luteinising hormone (LH) decreased after EA treatment, and these effects persisted during follow-up. With treatment, 90 per cent of patients resumed menstruation. (Electroacupuncture modulates reproductive hormone levels in patients with primary ovarian insufficiency: results from a prospective observational study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:657234).
Categories: Gynaecology, Infertility
