[Acupuncture at back-shu points of five zang, Geshu (BL 17) and Shenmen (HT 7) for the treatment of menopausal insomnia].

OBJECTIVE

To compare the clinical efficacy differences between acupuncture at back-shu points of five zang, Geshu (BL 17), Shenmen (HT 7) and regular medication for the treatment of menopausal insomnia.

METHODS

A total of 128 female patients of menopausal insomnia were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 64 cases in each one. Four patients in the observation group and 2 patients in the control group dropped out during the treatment. The patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture at Feishu (BL 13), Xinshu (BL 15), Pishu (BL 20), Ganshu (BL 18), Shenshu (BL 23), Geshu (BL 17) and Shenmen (HT 7), once a day, and there was an interval of 2 days between every 5 days of treatment. The patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of alprazolam (0.4 mg or 0.8 mg) before sleep. Three-week treatment was taken as one course, and totally three courses were given in the two groups. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), levels of estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were observed before treatment and 30 days after treatment; the efficacy was evaluated 30 days after treatment.

RESULTS

Each item score and total score of PSQI 30 days after treatment were lower than those before treatment in the two groups (all P<0.05), the scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The levels of E2 30 days after treatment were higher than those before treatment in the two groups (both P<0.05), but the level of FSH and LH 30 days after treatment were lower than those before treatment in the two groups; the level in the observation group was superior to that in the control group (all P<0.05). The total effective rate was 98.3% (59/60) in the observation group, which was better than 95.2% (59/62) in the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture at Feishu (BL 13), Xinshu (BL 15), Ganshu (BL 18), Pishu (BL 20), Shenshu (BL 23), Geshu (BL 17), and Shenmen (HT 7) has better efficacy for menopausal insomnia than alprazolam.