Efficacy and side-effects of a semi-individualized Chinese herb mixture "Tiáo Geng Tang" for menopausal syndrome in China.

BACKGROUND: Chinese herbal medicine is an alternative therapy for menopausal problems and is widely practiced in China and many other Asian countries. However, efficacies and side-effects are rarely assessed according to the standards of evidence-based medicine. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a prospective observatory study following efficacy and side-effects of a semi-individualized Chinese herbal mixture "Tiáo Geng Tang (TGT)" in 30 patients for 3 months. Another group of 30 patients receiving hormone therapy with tibolone was included as a positive comparison. Common questionnaire-based measuring instruments were: modified Kupperman index, menopause rating scale, life quality and Chinese medical symptom scale (CMSS). Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) were determined before and three months after the treatments. RESULTS: Significant improvement was seen in overall scores of all the four measurements in both groups. For some symptoms, including dry mouth, tinnitus, poor appetite and constipation, TGT was more effective than tibolone. For psychosocial and sexual sub-scales of life quality, tibolone has a slightly higher remedy rate than TGT. TGT lowered FSH and LH significantly, as tibolone did, but elevated E2 significantly less than tibolone. Various adverse events, including body weight increase, abdomen discomfort, nausea/vomiting, emotional instability, pressure in breasts and dizziness, were reported by patients treated with tibolone, whereas only diarrhea was observed in two patients treated with TGT. CONCLUSION: TGT alleviates menopausal symptoms with similar efficacy as tibolone but has fewer side effects.

Efficacy and side effects of chinese herbal medicine for menopausal symptoms: a critical review.

This study evaluates 23 (9 Chinese and 14 non-Chinese) randomized controlled trials for efficacy and side effects of Chinese herbal medicine on menopausal symptoms. Menopause was diagnosed according to western medicine criteria in all studies while seven Chinese studies and one non-Chinese study further stratified the participants using traditional Chinese medical diagnosis "Zheng differentiation." Efficacy was reported by all 9 Chinese and 9/14 non-Chinese papers. Side effects and adverse events were generally mild and infrequent. Only ten severe adverse events were reported, two with possible association with the therapy. CHM did not increase the endometrial thickness, a common side effect of hormone therapy. None of the studies investigated long-term side effects. Critical analysis revealed that (1) high-quality studies on efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine for menopausal syndrome are rare and have the drawback of lacking traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis (Zheng-differentiation). (2) Chinese herbal medicine may be effective for at least some menopausal symptoms while side effects are likely less than hormone therapy. (3) All these findings need to be confirmed in further well-designed comprehensive studies meeting the standard of evidence-based medicine and including Zheng-differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine.

Chinese herb mix Tiáo-Geng-Tang possesses antiaging and antioxidative effects and upregulates expression of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in ovariectomized rats.

BACKGROUND: Herb mixtures are widely used as an alternative to hormonal therapy in China for treatment of the menopausal syndrome. However, composition of these herb mixtures are complex and their working mechanism is often unknown. This study investigated the effect of Tiáo-Geng-Tang (TG-decoction), a Chinese herbal mixture extract, in balancing female hormones, regulating expression of estrogen receptors (ERs), and preventing aging-related tissue damage. METHODS: Ovariectomized 5-month-old female rats were used to model menopause and treated with either TG-decoction or conjugated estrogen for 8 weeks. Estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured in serum and in the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic expression of estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and beta were studied by real-time PCR and western blotting. Total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), oxidation indicator superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and tissue damage parameter malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured using standard assays. Aging-related ultrastructural alterations in mitochondria were studied in all animals by transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: TG-decoction-treatment elevated E2 and lowered FSH in serum of ovariectomized rats. The potency and efficacy of TG-decoction on the hypothalamus was generally weaker than that of conjugated estrogens. However, TG-decoction was superior in upregulating expression of ERα and ß. TG-decoction increased hypothalamic SOD and T-AOC levels and decreased MDAlevels and mitochondrial damage in hypothalamic neurons. CONCLUSIONS: TG-decoction balances female hormones similarly to conjugated estrogens but less effectively. However, it is superior in up regulating ERα and ß and exhibits antioxidative antiaging activities. Whilst it shares similar effects with estrogen, TG-decoction also seems to have distinctive and more complex functions and activities.

Menopause in German and Chinese women--an analysis of symptoms, TCM-diagnosis and hormone status.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate menopause-related symptoms, traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-diagnosis and hormone status of two comparable urban samples of menopausal women, one in Essen (Germany) and the other in Shanghai (China). METHODS: Patients suffering from menopause-syndrome were recruited from the TCM-outpatient clinic of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany (35 subjects) and from the Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China (35 subjects). The Kupperman-Index for tracing menopausal symptoms was applied. The complete TCM-diagnosis was carried out by the same investigator in China as well as in Germany. Testosterone and estrogen blood samples were collected once from every woman. RESULTS: There were significant differences in specific symptoms of the Kupperman-Index, such as a higher prevalence of formication and depression in German menopausal women; whereas Chinese menopausal women suffered significantly more from vertigo, headache and paraesthesia symptoms. Concerning TCM-diagnosis, Shen ()-yang deficiency was diagnosed in 51.43% of the German women in contrast to 5.71% of the Chinese women; 17.14% of the German women were diagnosed as having Shen-yin deficiency compared to 74.29% of the Chinese women. The German women showed significantly lower mean hormone levels for testosterone compared to the Chinese women (P