Acupuncture and Exercise May Bring Relief, Reduce Risks in Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Exercise and electro-acupuncture treatments can reduce sympathetic nerve activity in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), according to a recent study in the online version of American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 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 nonexistent 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.

One of the researchers, Dr Elisabet Stener-Victorin of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, said that the study’s findings could indicate an alternative nonpharmacologic approach to reducing cardiovascular risk in women with PCOS.

PCOS is one of the most common endocrine disorders, affecting approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. Among the problems associated with the condition are elevated levels of androgens (such as testosterone), 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 researchers wanted to find a long-lasting treatment for PCOS that would have no adverse side effects, 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: low-frequency electro-acupuncture (9); exercise (5); and untreated controls (6).

The acupuncture group underwent 14 treatments during the 16-week study. Acupuncture points were located in abdominal muscles and the 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 3 days per week for 30 to 45 minutes, maintaining a heart rate 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 the control group was not specifically assigned to do anything differently.

The researchers measured the muscle sympathetic nerve activity before and after the 16-week study. After treatment, they noted the following results.

• Both the acupuncture and exercise groups significantly decreased muscle sympathetic nerve activity compared to the control group.
• 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.

Additionally, there was a significant drop in testosterone in the acupuncture group. This is an important indicator because the strongest independent predictor of high sympathetic nerve activity in women is the level of testosterone.

The study has some limitations, including a small sample size, so further research is necessary.