Objective : To determine the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy on hiesho in maturate stage females.
Design : Multicenter, randomized, prospective, open blind, waiting list-controlled trial.
Setting : A clinical center attached to three universities and one vocational school.
Participants : Twenty two females between 18-39 years of age and with a level of more than four points on the “hiesho sensation scale” proposed by Kusumi et al for hiesho. Interventions : Participants were randomly assigned to receive therapies of either acupuncture or no therapy (waiting list controls). Acupuncture therapy was provided by needle retention to SP 6 and electro-acupuncture therapy to BL 32 at a frequency of 1 Hz for 20 minutes. One session per week of this therapy was provided for a total of four sessions. Method of Measurement : The primary outcome of change in hiesho intensity was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary changes were measured by an eight heading score and three component summaries of the standard edition SF-36 v 2.
Results : The statistical analyses used an intent-to-treat analysis that included two participants who dropped out, and the mixture of one participant targeted for exclusion who was censored from the analyses. As a result, 21 participants were classified as either in the acupuncture group (n = 12) or the control group (n = 9). Efficacy with acupuncture therapy was not found for effect size (Cohen d, point-biserial correlation r) for VAS and the scores of SF-36 between the two groups.
Conclusions : Effectiveness of the acupuncture therapy was not found, which suggests that it may be due to the smaller sample size, frequency of intervention, and symptoms associated with autonomic dysfunction.

Objective: We examined the effects of ontokyu (warm tube moxibustion) medical treatment of GB33 and SP6 on young women with a chilly constitution (‘Hie’ symptoms). Methods: The subjects were 13 female university students (mean age: 20.7± 1.3years). They were assigned to either a GB33 group or an SP6 group in consideration of height for the determinate method by the discriminant analysis of Sakaguchi et al. After a one-week pre-observation period, 1 or 2 ontokyu treatments (Choan NEO, Yamasho) twice a week for four weeks were conducted. The follow-up period was two weeks. Effects of the therapy were evaluated using an original questionnaire (‘Hie’ diary), which consisted of six categorical scales of 14 symptoms and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of the severity of ‘Hie’. Results: Three subjects dropped out before 1st week therapy among the 13 subjects, so the number of subjects in both groups became five. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of age, height, weight, BMI, VAS, and total score for 14 symptoms at the baseline. There was no interaction between the groups for VAS or total score for the 14 symptoms. For both groups, no significant changes could be found in VAS during the intervention period and follow-up period compared with that during the pre-observation period. Although the total score for the 14 symptoms in both groups decreased gradually from the start of intervention for the GB33 group, it significantly decreased in after the 3rd and 4th weeks therapy compared with that in the pre-observation period. For the SP6 group, it significantly decreased in after the 4th week therapy and the 2nd week after finished therapy. For each item of the 14 symptoms, the GB33 group showed significant differences in stiff neck and shoulders and feeling thirsty when their scores between the pre-observation period and the intervention period were compared. In addition, the SP6 group showed a significant difference in stiff neck and shoulders, feeling thirsty, and nervousness when their scores between the pre-observation period and the intervention period were compared. Specifically, stiff neck and shoulders for the GB33 group was significantly reduced in the 1st and 2nd weeks after finished therapy, and feeling thirsty showed significant reduction in after the 3rd and 4th weeks therapy. On the other hand, for the SP6 group, stiff neck and shoulders significantly decreased in after the 2nd and 4th weeks therapy and the 1st and 2nd after finished therapy, as did feeling thirsty in the 4th week therapy and in the 2nd week after finished therapy, as well as becoming nervous in after the 1st, 2nd and 4th weeks therapy. Conclusion: It was suggested that ontokyu medical treatment to GB33 and SP6 for young women with a chilly constitution did not appear to exacerbate the severity of ‘Hie’ after reductions in air temperature, while improving the total score for 14 symptoms similarly.