Efficacy and Side-effects of a Semi-individualized Chinese Herb Mixture 'Tiao Geng Tang' for Menopausal Syndrome in China

摘要

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 "Tiao 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 (E-2) 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.