Menopause:

Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 3-12
(C) 1995 The North American Menopause Society

Effects of Acupuncture on Climacteric Vasomotor Symptoms, Quality of Life, and Urinary Excretion of

Neuropeptides among Postmenopausal Women Y. Wyon, R. Lindgren, (1) T. Lundeberg, and M. Hammar
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Health
Sciences, University Hospital of Linkoping, Linkoping, and (1)
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology,
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: Most perimenopausal women suffer from vasomotor symptoms.
Changes in central opioid activity have been proposed to be involved in
the
mechanisms of hot flushes after menopause. Because acupuncture
increases central opioid activity, it may affect postmenopausal hot
flushes. The aim was
to study if and to what extent two different kinds of acupuncture
affected postmenopausal hot flushes, urinary excretion of certain
neuropeptides, and
quality of life in a group of postmenopausal women. Twenty-four women
with natural menopause and hot flushes were included. Twenty-one women
completed the study. One group was randomized to electroacupuncture at
2 Hz, whereas the other group was treated with another form of
acupuncture
(i. e., superficial needle insertion) for a total of 8 weeks. All women
daily registered the number and severity of flushes from 1 month before
to 3 months
after treatment. They completed Quality of Life questionnaires before,
during, and after treatment. Twenty-four-hour urine was sampled before,
during, and
after treatment and analyzed for neuropeptides using radioimmunoassay
methods. The number of flushes decreased significantly by >50% in
both
groups and remained decreased in the group receiving
electroacupuncture, whereas in the superficial-needle-insertion group,
the number of flushes
increased again during the 3 months after treatment. The Kupperman
Index decreased significantly in both groups during and after
treatment. The
excretion of the potent vasodilating neuropeptide calcitonin
gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity decreased significantly
during treatment.
Acupuncture significantly affects hot flushes and sweating episodes
after menopause, with effects persisting at least 3 months after the
end of treatment.
Changes in calcitonin gene-related peptide, which is a very potent
vasodilator, could be involved in the mechanisms behind hot flushes. 1.