OBJECTIVETo compare the difference of serum sex hormone between female patients with post-adolescent acne and healthy women, and to explore the efficacy and action mechanism of acupoint catgut embedding, fire needle, auricular acupuncture on skin lesion in female patients of post-adolescent acne.

METHODSA total of 107 female patients of post-adolescent acne were divided into an integrated acupuncture group (54 cases, 4 cases were excluded) and a medication group (53 cases, 5 cases were excluded). The patients in the integrated acupuncture group were treated with comprehensive treatment of acupoint catgut embedding, fire needle, auricular acupuncture; the acupoint catgut embedding was applied at Dazhui (GV 14), Yintang (GV 29), Yangbai (GB 14) through Yuyao (EX-HN 4) and other acupoints based on syndrome differentiation; the fire needle was applied at skin lesion; the auricular acupuncture was applied at erjian (HX), e (AT), kou (CO), etc. The patients in the medication group were treated with oral administration of tanshinone capsules (4 capsules each time, 3 times a day) and external use of adapalene gel (one treatment per day at night). Patients in the two groups were treated for 8 weeks. The skin lesion of acne was evaluated before treatment as well as 4 weeks and 8 weeks after treatment in the two groups; the serum levels of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E) were tested 24 hours before menstruation in the integrated acupuncture group (50 cases) and healthy control group (46 cases), and the change of serum sex hormone after treatment was observed in 21 patients with sex hormone disorder in the integrated acupuncture group.

RESULTSBefore treatment, the level of E in the integrated acupuncture group was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group (<0.01), but T/E in the integrated acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group (<0.01). After treatment, the level of E was significantly increased (<0.01) and T/E was reduced (<0.01) in the 21 patients with sex hormone disorder in the integrated acupuncture group. The skin lesion scale of acne was significantly reduced in the two groups after 4-week and 8-week treatment (all <0.01); the difference between the two groups was not significant after 4-week treatment (>0.05); the skin lesion scale of acne in the integrated acupuncture group was significantly lower than that in the medication group after 8-week treatment (<0.01). The efficacy between the two groups was not significant after 4-week the treatment (>0.05); after 8-week treatment, the cured and effective rate was 66.0% (33/50) in the integrated acupuncture group, which was superior to 45.8% (22/48) in the medication group (<0.05).

CONCLUSIONCompared with healthy women, the level of serum sex hormone of E is reduced in the female patients of post-adolescent acne, resulting in relative increased level of T; the acupoint catgut embedding, fire needle, auricular acupuncture have better efficacy than medication for post-adolescent acne, which have regulation effects on sex hormone disorder.