Clinical and Experimental Study on Treatment of Menopause Syndrome with TCM

　　
Objective: To observe the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine Gengnianchun in treating Menopause syndrome and research on its mechanism.

Methods: 84 cases of Menopause syndrome patients were treated with Gengnianchun in clinic on the basis of the efficiency and improvement of immunity of clinical observation. The effect of Gengnianchun on the nerve-endocrine-immune system was observed in l5, 18 and 2l-24 months aged female rats by means of radioligand integrated assay (HAP fractionation by absorption), immunohistochemica1 method, Tetramethyl Pyrazole, radioimmunoassay electronic microscope and Northern blot, etc.

Result:
(l) after treatment, the symptoms of 8l patients disappeared or improved. Among them, the effective rate of dysphoria with smothery sensation was 92.2l%. Of the 7 cases that were treated with estrogen without effect, 6 cases were effective and 3 cases disappeared in symptoms. After the treatment, blood FSH, LH of the Patients decreased significantly but blood E2 had non-conspicuous increase. It suggested that Gengnianchun could improve the function of estrogen, though it has little effect on E2 level;

(2) After feeding Gengnianchun, the aged rats had no clear increase in blood E2 level, but had a decrease in blood T and significant increase in the number of estrogenic receptor Er and ERmRNA content in the hypothalamus and pituitary. In addition, the lowered β-endorphin in blood and hypothalamus increased apparently, the compensatory increased substance P decreased and the 5-hydroxytriptamine in the nuclei of median-dorsal raphe of mesencephalon had no apparent increase. These facts suggested that Gengnianchun could regulate the functions of central nerve system via the activity of estrogenic receptor;

(3) The levels of splenocyte ER, induced interleukin-2 and TNF increased, the compensatory thickening of the adrenal cortex and zona fasciculata reduced considerably and the increased chondriosome fat granule and lipofuscin in the zona reticularis also decreased greatly.

Conclusion: Gengnianchun can regulate cytoimmunity and adrenal cortex secretion- immune function by influencing the estrogenic receptor. The therapeutic effect of Gengnianchun mainly depends on the regulation of the nerve-endocrine-immune network by the increase of estrogenic receptor rather than the increase of estrogen level.

By Yu Jin, Cao Lingxian, Bu Shizhong etc