FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2009
Contact: Donna Krupa
Office: (301) 634-7253
commoff@the-aps.org
For Women With PCOS,
Acupuncture And Exercise May Bring Relief, Reduce Risks
Study
finds acupuncture and exercise decrease a key marker for disease
 BETHESDA,
Md. (June 29, 2009) Exercise and electro-acupuncture treatments can
reduce sympathetic nerve activity in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome
(PCOS), according to a new study. The finding is important because women
with PCOS often have elevated sympathetic nerve activity, which plays a role
in hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease
The study also found that the electro-acupuncture
treatments led to more regular menstrual cycles, reduced testosterone levels
and reduced waist circumference.
Exercise had no effect on the irregular or non-existent
menstrual cycles that are common among women with PCOS, nor did it reduce
waist circumference. However, exercise did lead to reductions in weight and
body mass index.
“The findings that low-frequency electro-acupuncture
and exercise decrease sympathetic nerve activity in women with PCOS
indicates a possible alternative non-pharmacologic approach to reduce
cardiovascular risk in these patients,” said one of the researchers, Dr.
Elisabet Stener-Victorin of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The
findings regarding menstrual cycles and decrease in testosterone levels in
the low-frequency electro-acupuncture are also of interest, according to the
researcher.
The study, “Low-frequency electro-acupuncture and
physical exercise decrease high muscle sympathetic nerve activity in
polycystic ovary syndrome” was conducted by Elisabet Stener-Victorin,
Elizabeth Jedel, Per Olof Janson and Vrsa Bergmann Sverrisdottir, all of the
Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and the Karolinska
Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. The study is in the online edition of the
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative
Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society.
Common endocrine disorder
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most
common endocrine disorders, affecting an estimated 10% of women of
reproductive age. Among the problems associated with the condition are
elevated levels of androgens (such as testosterone, the ‘male’ hormone found
in both sexes), ovarian cysts, irregular menstrual cycles and infertility.
PCOS is associated with increased sympathetic nerve
activity in the blood vessels, part of the ‘fight or flight’ response that
results in blood vessel constriction. Chronic activation of the sympathetic
nervous system increases the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart
attack and stroke.
The Swedish researchers had previously found that PCOS
is associated with increased sympathetic nerve activity and said it may
arise from the elevated testosterone level that is characteristic of PCOS.
Three groups
The researchers wanted to find a long-lasting treatment
for PCOS that would have no adverse side effects, and so they looked at
whether acupuncture or exercise could decrease the sympathetic nerve
activity in women with PCOS. The study included 20 women, average age of 30
years, divided into the following groups:
The acupuncture group underwent 14 treatments during
the 16-week study. Acupuncture points were located in abdominal muscles and
back of the knee, points thought to be associated with the ovaries. The
needles in the abdomen and leg were stimulated with a low-frequency
electrical charge, enough to produce muscle contraction but not enough to
produce pain or discomfort.
The exercise group received pulse watches and were told
to take up regular exercise: brisk walking, cycling or any other aerobic
exercise that was faster than walking but that they could sustain for at
least 30 minutes. They exercised at least three days per week for 30-45
minutes, maintaining a pulse frequency above 120 beats per minute.
The researchers instructed the control group in the
importance of exercise and a healthy diet, the same instructions the
experimental groups received, but were not specifically assigned to do
anything differently.
Key Findings
The researchers measured the muscle sympathetic nerve
activity before and after the 16-week study. Following treatment, the study
found the following:
-
The acupuncture group experienced a drop in waist size,
but not a drop in body mass index or weight.
-
The exercise group experienced a drop in weight and body
mass index but not in waist size.
-
The acupuncture group experienced fewer menstrual
irregularities but the exercise group’s irregularities did not change.
-
In the acupuncture group, there was a significant drop in
testosterone. This is an important indicator because the strongest
independent predictor of high sympathetic nerve activity in women is the
level of testosterone.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that repeated
low-frequency electro-acupuncture and physical exercise can reduce high
sympathetic nerve activity seen in women with PCOS,” according to the
authors. “Furthermore, both therapies decreased measures of obesity while
only low-frequency electro-acupuncture improved menstrual bleeding pattern.”
The study has some limitations, including a small
sample size, so further research is necessary, the authors wrote. To find
the full study, click
here or go to
http://ajpregu.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/00197.2009v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=Stener-Victorin&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT.
Editor’s Notes: To arrange an interview with Dr.
Stener-Victorin, please contact Donna Krupa at
commoff@the-aps.org or (301) 634-7253.
Physiology
is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create
health or disease. The American Physiological Society (APS) has been an
integral part of this scientific discovery process since it was established
in 1887.
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