| Menopause in women occurs at the mean age of 50 yearsand is marked by the cessation of ovulation and a dramaticdecline in the production of ovarian hormones. One third of awoman's life is spent in the estrogendeficient .During theclimacteric, as many as 80% of women experience subjectivesymptoms and in a number of cases these are sufficientlyunpleasant to significantly impair the quality of life. peri-andpost menopausal women may result from hormonal changes,vasomotor symptoms, and possibly psychological factors.Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) seems to not only relievesclimacteric symptoms but also reduces the risk of osteoporosis,cardiovascular disease, and possibly cognitive disorders,increasing quality of life expectancy. Research on femaleclimacterium has made great progress in the past five decades. Agreat amount of attention has been given to the effect of HRT . However the data concerning hormone replacement therapy(HRT) were recently completely modified.In May 2002, thewomen's health initiative (WHI) trial of post-menopausal HRTwas interrupted earlier than expected. The studied hormonalformulation in this arm of the WHI trial was the association ofconjugated equine estrogens and medroxyprogesterone. Thereason for termination was an increased risk of breast cancer andmyocardial infarction in the hormone-therapy group. Later,reports confirmed that this type of HRT could not be used anymore for the primary prevention of coronary heart disease even ifthe absolute risk remained low. There is an increased risk forvenous thromboembolism with post-menopausal estroprogesta-tive replacement.This risk does not seem to exist withtransdermal estrogens. The impact of theWHI trial on clinicalpractice was very important since then.The treatment must nowbe prescribed for the shortest time and at the minimal dose.Alternative and complementary medicine may play a role in themanagement of menopause, however, well-designed large studiesare still needed. Acupuncture is based in the tradition of Chinese medicinethat has evolved over 2,500 years. Many aspects of Chinesemedicine are difficult to reconcile from a Western point of view.Before describing acupuncture therapy, one must elaborate onthese contrasting philosophies. Chinese medical theory involves adialectical logic, in which the dual complements and polaraspects of all phenomena are recognized as essential to practicingmedicine.Universal processes are viewed as containing the polarcomplements of yin and yang, and an imbalance in these forcescauses illness. Yin means the "shady side of the slope"andrepresents cold, rest, darkness,and the interior of the humanbody.Yang means the "sunny side of the slope"and representsheat, activity, light, and the exterior of the body. An illness isoften described in terms of an excess of cold (yin) or heat(yang).A person's vital energy, Qi, is made up of yin and yangand permeates the human body. Qi has many functions that areessential to health: it is the source of all bodily movement,protects the body from external forces that cause illness,warmsthe body, and ensures retention of the body's substancesandorgans.Adisharmony of Qi in a way reflects an imbalance ofyin or yang.. A healthy person is viewed as a microcosm,encompassing all of the elements of nature in perfectharmony.Illness is a manifestation of an imbalance in the manyinterrelated forces present in the human body. To treat thedisorder, harmony and balance must be restored. The practitionerof traditional Chinese medicine is trained to recognize patterns ofdisharmony in Qi, yin, and yang. Treatment to restore balancemay be effected through medicinal herbs or acupuncture.Acupuncture represents a prescientific Chinese tradition thatstrives to restore the balance of natural forces called yin, yang,and Qi to cure illness In the early 1970s. Electro-acupuncture hasbeen used for this purpose as well as the more traditionalmethods.The aim of this study was to determine the effects oflectroacupuncture(EA) associated with Low-dose estrogen onovariectomized rats .Female wistar rats weighing 200～220gwere ovariectomized under anesthesia.After 1 week recovery ,acupuncture at the points selected and connectelectroacupuncture therapeutic Apparatus with continuous wavesand frequency of 30 Hz ,intensity of 2-3mA.the treatment time is10 minutes. estrogen at the doses of 0.3mg/kg was administeredby gavage every half of a month . The sham group ,OVXcontrol group ,normal doses of estrogen group (0.6mg/kg),low doses of estrogen group (0.15mg/kg) and electroacupuncturegroup were also included simultaneously in our study.After 8weeks, the levels of serum estradiol(E2),follicular stimulatinghormone(FSH) , luteinizeing hormone (LH) andβ-endorphin(β-EP) were determined by radioimmunoassay , endometriummorphology were evaluated by HE and electron microscope.theresults: Compared with sham group, OVX control group hada decreased E2 andβ-EP,increased FSH and LH in serum(P<0.05). There were no significant differential betweennormal doses of estrogen group and electroacupunctureassociated with Low-dose estrogen, but both groups had moreobvious effects than electroacupuncture group(P<0.05). After 8weeks treatment, endometrium atrophied inOVX control group,electroacupuncture group and low doses of estrogengroup ,Endometrium of normal doses of estrogen group had anapparent hyperplasia trace. There were not obvious atrophy andhyperplasia trace in electroacupuncture associated with Low-doseestrogen group; Lissome, lipofuscin, marrow sample Corpuscleappeared inOVX control group, electroacupuncture group andlow doses of estrogen group endometrium glandular epithelium,which mark the trace of senility. sthenic function of endometriumglandular epithelium appeared in normal doses of estrogen group.There were not obvious abnormal in electroacupunctureassociated with Low-dose estrogen group.In conclusion, similarto normal doses of estrogen, Electro-acupuncture associated withLow-dose estrogen may especially raised serumE2 andβ-EPlevels,lowered FSH and LH levels in ovariectomized rats, butdoesn't make endometrium hyperplasia obviously.Electro-acupuncture associated with Low-dose estrogen have avalue in the treatment of peri-menopausal syndrome. |
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