Acupuncture for Hot Flushes in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women: A Randomised, Sham-Controlled Trial

Kim, Dong Il; Jeong, Jae Cheol; Kim, Kun Hyung; Rho, Jin Ju; Choi, Min Sun; Yoon, Sang Ho; Choi, Sun-Mi; Kang, Kyung‐Won; Ahn, Hong Yup; Lee, Myeong Soo

doi:10.1136/aim.2011.004085

Cited by 46 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Previous RCTs show acupuncture in the treatment of symptoms of both perimenopausal and postmenopausal females has no advantage, compared with placebo needles [16-19]. Compared with no medical treatment (for example, self-caring, waiting), however, acupuncture is able to relieve symptoms quite well [16,17,29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) indicated that acupuncture is not superior to sham acupuncture in relieving perimenopausal symptoms [16-19]. Reliable and valid evidence for the effectiveness of treating perimenopausal syndrome with acupuncture is still inadequate, due to the number, size, design scheme, and quality of recent studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use acupuncture to relieve perimenopausal syndrome: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Liu

Zheng

et al. 2014

Trials

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BackgroundWhether acupuncture is effective for relieving perimenopausal syndrome has been controversial recently. In this article, we report the protocol of a randomized controlled trial using acupuncture to treat perimenopausal syndrome, aiming to answer this controversy.DesignA multicenter randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms is underway in China. Two hundred and six women with perimenopausal syndrome will be randomly assigned to a treatment group using acupuncture plus auricular acupressure (AA group) and a control group using Climen® (Bayer Healthcare Company Limited, Guangzhou, China), a 28-day sequential hormone replacement therapy, in a 1:1 ratio. Participants in the AA group will receive three acupuncture sessions per week in the first 4 weeks and two sessions per week in the following 8 weeks, for a total of 28 sessions over 12 weeks. Auricular points will be plastered by Semen Vaccariae twice per week for a consecutive 12 weeks, with both ears used alternately. The Climen® control group is prescribed a tablet containing estradiol valerate 2 mg/day for the first 11 days, and a tablet containing estradiol valerate 2 mg/day plus cyroterone acetate 1 mg/day for the following 10 days. The total treatment period of the control group is three cycles. The post-treatment follow-up period will last 24 weeks. The primary outcome is the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) assessed at baseline and 4, 12, 16, 24 and 36 weeks after randomization. The secondary outcomes are Menopause-Specific Quality of Life, average hot flash score during 24 hours, serum estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone level. The first two secondary outcomes are measured at the same point as the MRS. Other secondary outcomes are measured at baseline and 12, 24 weeks after randomization.DiscussionThe results of this trial, which will be available in 2015, will clarify whether acupuncture is effective to relieve perimenopausal syndrome.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01933204 (registered 9 August 2013)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use acupuncture to relieve perimenopausal syndrome: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Liu

Zheng

et al. 2014

Trials

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“…All patients were treated at least 2 times per week in the first month. Most of the study participants had a treating period of 8-12 weeks, except for 1 participant [9], whose treatment lasted only 4 weeks. For this analysis, a random-effects model was used due to the large amount of heterogeneity.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupuncture May Improve Quality of Life in Menopausal Women: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Luo

et al. 2017

Complement Med Res

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Objective: This analysis aims to identify, on the basis of the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), whether acupuncture therapy can alleviate menopausal symptoms and promote health-related quality of life. Methods: We included RCTs that directly compared any type of acupuncture with sham acupuncture in treating menopause-related symptoms and which were published from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2016 in 6 electronic databases. Two authors performed this work independently; ‘risk-of-bias' assessment and data extraction were also independently performed by these 2 review authors. The outcomes are presented as scores of the menopause rating scale (MRS), which represents the self-assessment of patients. Results: Six studies were included. Our analysis found that acupuncture can reduce the MRS score in menopausal women by the end of the treating period (2-3 months, on average) and even in the follow-up period (1-3 months), not only in the total score but also in each subscale score. But the grade of evidence is very low. Conclusions: Both the total score and the subgroup analysis strongly indicated that acupuncture can alleviate menopause-related symptoms. However, the evidence is not very strong. Thus, further studies about the efficiency of acupuncture on menopausal symptoms based on well-designed trials are needed.

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“…Management not using acupuncture. 4. The design of the study did not include acupuncture and control groups.…”

Section: Exclusion Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Acupuncture in Treating Dysphagia in Patients with a Stroke

Long

2012

Acupunct Med

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Background Dysphagia, or deglutition difficulty, is a common manifestation in patients with a stroke and its management is an important aspect of rehabilitation. Acupuncture, a complementary and alternative therapy, is the subject of growing public interest for treatment of stroke. Objective A meta-analysis was performed to study the effect of acupuncture for treatment of dysphagia in patients affected by a stroke. Methods Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing acupuncture treatment with nonacupuncture treatment of dysphagia in patients with a stroke were identified from the databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and CBM disc (China Biological Medicine Database). Eligible investigations were included and data on the effectiveness of acupuncture were extracted and synthesised by meta-analysis using RevMan 5.1.4. Results were expressed as OR for dichotomous data; 95% CIs were also calculated. Results Seventy-two RCTs (3208 patients in the treatment group and 2926 patients in the control group) were identified. Details of randomisation and blinding were not reported and information on withdrawals and dropouts was missing in most of included reports. Meta-analysis showed that the effectiveness of treatment in the group receiving acupuncture was higher than that in the nonacupuncture group (OR=5.17, 95% CI 4.18 to 6.

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Acupuncture for Hot Flushes in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women: A Randomised, Sham-Controlled Trial

Cited by 46 publications

References 32 publications

Use acupuncture to relieve perimenopausal syndrome: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Use acupuncture to relieve perimenopausal syndrome: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Acupuncture May Improve Quality of Life in Menopausal Women: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Acupuncture in Treating Dysphagia in Patients with a Stroke

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