Clinical Study On The Treatment Of Menopausal Hot Flushes By Acupuncture Of "sihua Points"

Objective:This study observed the therapeutic effect differences between“Sihua points”acupuncture and routine acupuncture in the treatment of perimenopausal syndrome（PMS）with hot flashes,to verify the therapeutic effect of Sihua point on hot flashes,to provide reference for the optimization of clinical acupoint selection scheme of PMS patients with hot flashes.Methods:In this study,86 eligible PMS patients with hot flashes were randomly divided into the test group（Sihua point group）and the control group（routine point selection group）according to the method of random number table.According to different point selection theories,the test group selected points as Sihua point（Geshu and Danshu）,and the control group selected points as Guanyuan,Sanyinjiao,Zigong and Taixi,both treated with acupuncture.The two groups were treated three times a week,four weeks as a course of treatment,a total of 2 courses.The indicators were mean hot flashes of the two groups before and after treatment,menopause rating scale（MRS）（excluding“hot flashes”）,menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire（MENQOL）,sex hormones estradiol（E₂）,follicle stimulating hormone（FSH）,and luteinizing hormone（LH）,to evaluate the improvement of hot flashes,other symptoms of PMS,quality of life and sex hormone level.Results:1. Baseline situation:The two groups were consistent in subjects of age,disease’s duration,height,weight,mean hot flashes,MRS,MENQOL,and sex hormones of the baseline.2.Results after treatment:（1）mean hot flashes:Two groups’mean hot flashes were statistically lower than before the treatment（P<0.05）.The mean hot flashes of the test group were 4.31±2.71,while those of the control group were 6.13±3.26,and the former was significantly lower than the latter（P<0.05）.（2）MRS and MENQOL:After the treatment,the total MRS scores and MENQOL scores of the two groups were significantly lower than before the treatment（P<0.05）。In MRS subitem comparison,there were significant differences between the two groups in 8 aspects（P<0.05）,including heart discomfort,sleep disorder,emotional depression,nervousness and irritability,anxiety and fidgety,memory decline,sexual desire decline and vaginal dryness,but no significant differences in joint muscle symptoms and urinary system symptoms（P>0.05）.MRS and MENQOL between the two groups had no meaning difference（P>0.05）.（3）Sex hormones(E_2,FSH,LH):Two groups’sex hormones had no significant difference than before treatment（P>0.05）,but there was an upward trend in E₂and a downward trend in FSH and LH;there was no statistical significance in the items sex hormones between two groups（P>0.05）.Conclusion:1.“Sihua points”acupuncture and conventional acupuncture are both effective in the treatment of PMS with hot flashes.2.“Sihua points”acupuncture is superior to conventional acupuncture in alleviating hot flashes of PMS.And it can improve the other symptoms and life quality of PMS.3."Sihua points"acupuncture treatment of PMS with hot flashes deserves clinical extend and application,due to points less,simple acupuncture operation.