Effects of Ziyin Jianghuo Ningxin decoction plus dehydroepiandrosterone and femoston in treatment of patients with menopausal symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the therapeutic effect of Ziyin Jianghuo Ningxin Decoction (ZYJHNXD) plus dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) in patients suffering from menopausal symptoms identified as, in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine, symptom pattern of Yin deficiency with hyperactive fire. METHODS: Totally 180 postmenopausal women aged 40 to 60 years were assigned into four groups and accepted femoston, femoston with ZYJHNXD, femoston with DHEA, femoston with ZYJHNXD and DHEA therapies, respectively, for three months. Common questionnaire-based measure instruments included modified Kupperman index (MKI), Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA), and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD). Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), bone mineral density (BMD), and sleep quality were evaluated before and three months after the treatments. RESULTS: In all four groups, the scores of MKI, HAMA, HAMD and the levels of FSH, LH decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after the treatment, while the levels of E2, 5-HIAA, NE, and DA showed obvious elevation (P < 0.05). The group receiving ZYJHNXD and DHEA combined with femoston had superiority in the preservation of bone mineral density and improvement of total sleep time and nighttime sleep time over the other three groups. CONCLUSION: ZYJHNXD and DHEA combined with MHT therapy have a favorable outcome in managing menopausal symptoms, restoring hormone levels, preventing skeletal rarefaction or osteoporosis, and improving sleep quality for postmenopausal women.

Effects of Heyan Kuntai Capsule () on Follicular Development and Oocyte Cohesin Levels in Aged Mice / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect of Heyan Kuntai Capsule (, HYKT) on the ovarian function of aged mice and expressions of cohesion complexes in oocytes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-five 9-month-old female C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 5 groups by block randomization method (n=5 per group), including the control group (saline), 17β-estradiol group [E, 100 μg/(kg•d)], and low-, medium-, and highdose of HYKT groups [0.3, 0.9, 2.7 g/(kg•d), respectively]. All mice were treated by intragastric administration for 4 weeks. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and anti-VASA staining were used to detect the amounts of follicles. The apoptosis of follicles was measured by anti-gamma HA histone family member X (γHAX) staining and TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) assay. The density of cohesin subunits, REC8 meiotic recombination protein (REC8), structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) 1β and SMC3 in oocytes were evaluated by immunofluorescent staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After administration of E and high-dose of HYKT, the total number of follicles as well as the number of primordial and primary follicles were significantly increased (P<0.05). Anti-γHAX staining and TUNEL assay demonstrated that high-dose of HYKT and E partly suppressed the apoptosis of follicles (P<0.05). Furthermore, it showed an increased trend in the levels of REC8 and SMC1β, after administration with E and HYKT, and no obvious change in the level of SMC3.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HYKT could enhance the number of follicles, suppress apoptosis of oocytes and have a trend to elevate the meiotic-specific cohesin subunits (REC8 and SMC1β) in oocytes of aged mice, indicating a beneficial effect on the ovarian function in terms of the quantity and quality of follicles.</p>