Menopause research studies for holistic treatments

BACKGROUND:
Many breast cancer patients suffer from hot flush and medical menopause as side effects of treatment. Some patients undergo acupuncture, rather than hormone therapy, to relieve these symptoms, but the efficacy of acupuncture is uncertain. This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture on hot flush and menopause symptoms in women with breast cancer.
METHODS:
A literature search was performed, following the PRISMA Statement and without language restrictions, of 7 databases from inception through March 2017. All selected studies were randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that examined the effect of needle acupuncture on hot flush and menopause symptoms in patients with breast cancer. The methodological quality of these trials was assessed using Cochrane criteria, and meta-analysis software (RevMan 5.2) was used to analyze the data.
RESULTS:
We examined 844 breast cancer patients (average age: 58 years-old) from 13 RCTs. The trials had medium-to-high quality, based on the modified Jadad scale. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture had no significant effect on the frequency and the severity of hot flush (p = 0.34; p = 0.33), but significantly ameliorated menopause symptoms (p = 0.009). None of the studies reported severe adverse events.
CONCLUSIONS:
Acupuncture significantly alleviated menopause symptoms, but had no effect on hot flush. Breast cancer patients concerned about the adverse effects of hormone therapy should consider acupuncture. Further large-scale studies that also measure biomarkers or cytokines may help to elucidate the mechanism by which acupuncture alleviates menopause symptoms in patients with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE:
To compare the therapeutic effect of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), acupuncture, and hormone therapy on menopause- related symptoms of peri- and postmenopausal women.
STUDY DESIGN:
Fifty-seven Chinese women completed 2 months of treatment with either CHM (5 g twice daily, n = 22), acupuncture plus CHM (Kun Bao Wan) 5 g twice daily plus sessions of acupuncture, n = 20), or hormone therapy (n = 15).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Kupperman index score, levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol, and the number of symptoms before and after treatment were the main outcome measures.
RESULTS:
CHM, acupuncture plus CHM, and hormone therapy significantly decreased Kupperman score (P < .001 in each group) and number of symptoms (P < .05). The mean difference in Kupperman score between baseline and 2 months among the three groups was significantly varied (P = .02). The difference was only between acupuncture plus CHM and CHM with significantly better results by acupuncture plus CHM. Acupuncture plus CHM, as well as hormone therapy, significantly reduced the level of FSH (P < .05), but CHM alone didn’t cause any significant decrease in FSH levels (P > .05). The mean difference in the level of FSH between baseline and 2 months among the three groups was significantly different (P = .02). This difference was only between CHM and hormone therapy with significantly better results by hormone therapy. The three treatments didn’t make any significant increase in the level of E2 (P > .05).
CONCLUSION:
Application of the combination of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture proved as effective as hormone therapy in the treatment of menopause-related symptoms, and it achieved better outcomes than herbal medicine alone.

A block randomized, double-blind, group-comparative, placebo-controlled study was conducted to assess the effect of oestriol on recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women. 40 women, median age 78 years (66-91), 20 in each group, were treated with oestriol three mg p.o. per day or corresponding placebo for four weeks, followed by one mg per day for eight weeks. The main response parameter was the number of urinary tract infections per week in the two treatment periods. Both oestriol and placebo reduced the number of infections per week significantly in both periods, compared with the pretreatment period. There was no difference between oestriol and placebo treatment in the first period. In the second period, however, oestriol treatment was significantly more effective than placebo (p = 0.05). Correspondingly, there was a significant difference between the two groups in the vaginal pH at the end of the study (p less than 0.05). We conclude that oestriol reduces recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women.