A Controlled Trial of Chinese Herbal Medicine for Premenstrual Syndrome

Abstract

Premenstrual syndrome is a common disorder troubling many women during their reproductive years. The Chinese have been using herbal medicines to treat menstrual cycle related symptoms for centuries. Traditional Chinese medicine provides the aetiology and pathogenesis of the symptoms of this disorder by applying Pattern Identification to diagnose the signs and symptoms of individual patients and to design individualised treatments which seek to address the entire pattern/s of disharmony. It follows that PMS, which has many symptoms and an idiosyncratic nature, is precisely an area for which Chinese medicine is most suitable. The aim of this study is to scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine on Australian women for the treatment of PMS within the theoretical frame-work of TCM. A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial was conducted by a qualified Chinese herbal practitioner and pharmacist. Following two months confirmatory assessment, sixty-one subjects were assigned randomly into two groups within different TCM patterns of Liver Qi Stagnation, Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency, Liver and Spleen Disharmony and Heart and Spleen Deficiency. Herbal medicine (n=31) and placebo (n=30) were provided sequentially for a period of three months. There were significant differences (p < .01) in scores after three months of treatment between Chinese herbal medicine and placebo in premenstrual physical and psychological symptoms, depression, anxiety and anger, but with no difference in perceived stress (p > .05). There were highly significant reductions (p< .001) in all assessments in both groups except that a significant result (p < .05) was recorded on perceived

Treating gynaecological disorders with traditional Chinese medicine: a review

“…There were significant differences after three months of treatment between CHM and placebo in premenstrual physical and psychological symptoms, depression, anxiety and anger, but with no difference in perceived stress, suggesting that the symptoms occurrence and severity of PMS can be effectively reduced by the use of CHM (Chou et al, 2008).…”

Evaluation of the acute and subchronic toxicity of Ziwan Baibu Tang

“…According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, 70-80% of the world's population employs plant-derived traditional treatment methods for health problems (Ahmad et al, 2006;Shirwaikar et al, 2009). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in China for thousands of years to diagnose and treat diseases (Chou et al, 2008). TCM theories are based on syndrome differentiation and holistic medicine.…”

Clinical Studies with Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Past Decade and Future Research and Development

“…Two RCTs on acute heroin withdrawal symptoms showed that two TCM therapies including Jinniu capsule and Tai-Kang-Ning could significantly reduce withdrawal symptoms [62,63]. In a premenstrual syndrome (PMS) study with placebo control [64], the results showed that TCM had a positive effect on the alleviation of symptoms after three months of treatment. In the treatment of cough in an uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection RCT study, the results demonstrated that there was no overall statistical significance in the differences of cough score and LCQ (Leicester cough questionnaire) between intervention and placebo groups although both groups had improved in scores [65].…”