OBJECTIVE: To observe the skin surface microcirculation of acupoints of conception vessel, governor vessel and thoroughfare vessel in patients with primary dysmenorrhea using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), and provide acupoint selection basis of acupuncture-moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea. METHODS: Ninety-nine healthy female college students with regular menstrual cycles (normal group) and 94 female college students with primary dysmenorrhea (dysmenorrhea group) were recruited. Before menstrual period, on the first day of menstruation, and on the third day after menstruation, LSCI was used to observe the surface microcirculation at the abdominal acupoints of conception vessel, i. e. Yinjiao (CV 7), Qihai (CV 6), Shimen (CV 5), Guanyuan (CV 4), Zhongji (CV 3) and Qugou (CV 2), acupoints of thoroughfare vessel, i. e. Huangshu (KI 16), Zhongzhu (KI 15), Siman (KI 14), Qixue (KI 13), Dahe (KI 12), Henggu (KI 11) and acupoints of lumbosacral region of governor vessel, i. e. Xuanshu (GV 5), Mingmen (GV 4), Yaoyangguan (GV 3), Yaoshu (GV 2) as well as two non-acupoints. RESULTS: Before menstrual period, there was no significant difference in the surface blood perfusion of the acupoints between the dysmenorrhea group and the normal group (P>0.05). On the first day of menstruation, the surface blood perfusion of Xuanshu (GV 5), Mingmen (GV 4), Yaoyangguan (GV 3) and right Huangshu (KI 16) in the dysmenorrhea group was higher than that in the normal group (P<0.05, P<0.01). On the third day after menstruation, the surface blood perfusion of the right Henggu (KI 11) in the dysmenorrhea group was lower than that in the normal group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION In patients with primary dysmenorrhea, on the first day of menstruation, the surface blood perfusion of Xuanshu (GV 5), Mingmen (GV 4), Yaoyangguan (GV 3) of governor vessel, and the right Huangshu (KI 16) of thoroughfare vessel is increased, while on the third day after menstruation, the surface blood perfusion of the right Henggu (KI 11) of thoroughfare vessel is decreased. These findings might provide a basis for acupoint selection in the acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.
Humans ; Female ; Microcirculation ; Dysmenorrhea/therapy* ; Menstrual Cycle ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effects of acupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medication on pregnancy outcomes in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) infertility of kidney deficiency and blood stasis, and to explore its effects on the protein expression of serum p38MAPK and JAK/STAT. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with RIF infertility of kidney deficiency and blood stasis who were scheduled for artificial cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer were randomly divided into an observation group (31 cases, 4 cases dropped out) and a control group (31 cases, 3 cases were eliminated). The patients in the control group were treated with conventional artificial cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer. On the basis of the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medication. Acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV 20), Guanyuan (CV 4) and bilateral Neiguan (PC 6), Zigong (EX-CA 1), Guilai (ST 29), Zusanli (ST 36), Taichong (LR 3), Shenshu (BL 23), Ciliao (BL 32), with each session lasting for 30 minutes, once every other day. Chinese herbal medication was administered to Bushen Huoxue (tonifing the kidney and activating blood circulation) decoction, with one dose per day, starting from the 3rd to 5th day of the menstrual cycle and continuing until 1 day before embryo transfer. Clinical pregnancy rate, embryo implantation rate, live birth rate, and biochemical pregnancy rate were compared between the two groups. TCM symptom score, platelet count (PLT), and plasma D-dimer level were assessed before treatment and 1 day before embryo transfer. Western blot method was used to detect the expression of serum P38MAPK, JAK, and STAT proteins before treatment and 1 day before embryo transfer. RESULTS: In the observation group, the clinical pregnancy rate, embryo implantation rate, and live birth rate were higher (P<0.05), while the biochemical pregnancy rate was lower (P<0.05) than those in the control group. One day before embryo transfer, both groups showed a decrease in TCM symptom scores, PLT, and plasma D-dimer levels compared to those before treatment (P<0.05), and the observation group had lower TCM symptom scores and plasma D-dimer levels than the control group (P<0.05). One day before embryo transfer, the expression levels of serum p38MAPK, JAK, and STAT proteins in both groups were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05), and the observation group had lower serum p38MAPK protein expression than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medication can improve the clinical pregnancy rate, embryo implantation rate, live birth rate, and reduce the biochemical pregnancy rate in RIF infertility patients of kidney deficiency and blood stasis. Its mechanism of action may be related to down-regulating plasma D-dimer level and protein expression of serum p38MAPK.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Menstrual Cycle ; Infertility, Female/drug therapy* ; Kidney ; Treatment Outcome ; Acupuncture Points

Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/epidemiology* ; Pregnancy Complications/epidemiology* ; Menstruation Disturbances

Objective: To investigate the familial heritability of endometriosis and to compare the clinical characteristics of patients with or without a family history of endometriosis. Methods: From January 2020 to June 2022, 850 patients with endometriosis confirmed by laparotomy or laparoscopy in Peking University Third Hospital were included in this study. Clinical data were collected, family history was followed up, and the differences of clinical indicators between patients with and without family history of endometriosis were compared. Results: A total of 850 patients were enrolled, with an average age of (33.8±7.0) years old, 315 (37.1%, 315/850) patients in stage Ⅲ and 496 (58.4%, 496/850) patients in stage Ⅳ. There were 100 patients with family history of endometriosis, accounting for 11.8% (100/850). Most of the 113 relatives involved were mothers, daughters and sisters (76.1%, 86/113), 81.5% (22/27) of the second and third degree relatives were maternal relatives. The median ages of patients with and without family history of endometriosis were 30 and 33 years old respectively at the time of diagnosis. The unmarried rate of patients with family history was higher [42.0% (42/100) vs 26.3% (197/750)]. The percentage of dysmenorrhea patients with family history was higher [89.0% (89/100) vs 55.5% (416/750)]. The medians of dysmenorrhea score in patients with and without family history were 6 and 2, and the median durations of dysmenorrhea were 10 and 1 years. There were significant differences in age, marital status, percentage of dysmenorrhea, dysmenorrhea score and duration (all P<0.001). The median levels of serum cancer antigen (CA) 125 in patients with family history and patients without family history at the time of diagnosis were 57.5 and 46.9 kU/L respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in nationality, bady mass index, menarche age, menstrual cycle, menstrual period, menstrual volume, serum CA_19-9 level, cyst location and size, stage, history of adverse pregnancy and childbirth, infertility, adenomyosis and deep infiltrating endometriosis (all P>0.05). By comparing the specific conditions of dysmenorrhea patients with and without family history of endometriosis, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the age of onset of dysmenorrhea, duration of dysmenorrhea, primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, and progressive aggravation of dysmenorrhea (all P>0.05). The difference in the degree of dysmenorrhea in dysmenorrhea patients with family history of endometriosis was significant (P<0.001). Conclusions: The incidence of endometriosis has a familial tendency, and most of the involved relatives are the first degree relatives. Compared with patients without family history of endometriosis, endometriosis patients with family history are diagnosed at an earlier age, with higher percentage of dysmenorrhea, had more severe dysmenorrhea and higher serum CA₁₂₅ level.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Endometriosis/complications* ; Dysmenorrhea/etiology* ; Menstruation ; Menstrual Cycle ; Adenomyosis/complications*

OBJECTIVES: To establish the menstrual blood identification model based on Naïve Bayes and multivariate logistic regression methods by using specific mRNA markers in menstrual blood detection technology combined with statistical methods, and to quantitatively distinguish menstrual blood from other body fluids. METHODS: Body fluids including 86 menstrual blood, 48 peripheral blood, 48 vaginal secretions, 24 semen and 24 saliva samples were collected. RNA of the samples was extracted and cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription. Five menstrual blood-specific markers including members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family MMP3, MMP7, MMP11, progestogens associated endometrial protein (PAEP) and stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) were amplified and analyzed by electrophoresis. The results were analyzed by Naïve Bayes and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The accuracy of the classification model constructed was 88.37% by Naïve Bayes and 91.86% by multivariate logistic regression. In non-menstrual blood samples, the distinguishing accuracy of peripheral blood, saliva and semen was generally higher than 90%, while the distinguishing accuracy of vaginal secretions was lower, which were 16.67% and 33.33%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The mRNA detection technology combined with statistical methods can be used to establish a classification and discrimination model for menstrual blood, which can distignuish the menstrual blood and other body fluids, and quantitative description of analysis results, which has a certain application value in body fluid stain identification.
Female ; Humans ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; Bayes Theorem ; Logistic Models ; Menstruation ; Body Fluids ; Saliva ; Semen ; Forensic Genetics/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the differences in the factors associated with endometriosis between Chinese and British patients. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted in 387 patients with endometriosis and 199 non-endometriosis patients admitted to John Radcliffe Hospital (Oxford, UK) and in 101 patients with endometriosis and 50 non-endometriosis patients admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. The clinical data including height, weight, body mass index, marital status, employment, menstruation, fertility, and operation reasons were collected via a standardized WERF EPHect questionnaire. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that body mass index, surgery for dysmenorrhea, history of pregnancy, counts of previous surgeries for endometriosis and status of employment were all significantly associated with endometriosis in the UK (P < 0.05), while a history of dysmenorrhea was significantly correlated with endometriosis in Chinese patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Dysmenorrhea may be the most important common factor associated with endometriosis in China and the UK, but the other factors contributing to endometriosis may differ between these two countries.
Case-Control Studies ; Dysmenorrhea/complications* ; Endometriosis/complications* ; Female ; Humans ; Menstruation ; Pregnancy ; United Kingdom

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common, reproductive endocrinopathy associated with ovarian dysfunction, cardiovascular disorders, obesity, and infertility. Myo-inositol is a novel treatment for women with PCOS that claimed to have improved fertility rate in this population. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effect of myo-inositol on pregnancy rate, menstrual cycle, and adverse effects from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: RCTs that evaluated the efficacy of myo-inositol in improving pregnancy rate and regulation of menstrual cycle in women with PCOS. Electronic databases were searched and studies published up to October 24, 2021 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Study selection and assessment of quality were conducted independently by two review authors. Results: Seven studies with 729 patients treated with myo-inositol and 677 patients treated with placebo and/or metformin were included in the analysis. The research groups did not diverge significantly in terms of basic characteristics, such as age, adnexal or uterine pathology, body mass index, and duration of infertility. In the myo-inositol group, regulation of the normal menstrual cycle is at 20%, significantly higher than the metformin group at 12%, (p<0.001). However, there is no significant difference in the pregnancy rate between myoinositol and placebo (p=0.42) and/or metformin (p=0.17). Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that myo-inositol can be an alternative treatment for PCOS in terms of regulation of menses and may improve the success of spontaneous pregnancies. However, additional randomized, double-blind controlled trials with larger sample sizes, low heterogeneity, and uniform inclusion criteria are recommended to establish the effects of myo-inositol on PCOS treatment and pregnancy rate.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome|pregnancy Rate|menstrual Cycle|randomized Controlled Trial

Alcohol Drinking ; Female ; Humans ; Menopause ; Menstruation ; Middle Aged ; Shift Work Schedule ; Smoking

OBJECTIVE: To observe the influence of regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy acupuncture therapy on negative emotions in patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). METHODS: A total of 60 patients with POI were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a western medication group, 30 cases in each group. The acupuncture group was treated with regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy acupuncture therapy at Baihui (GV 20), Shenting (GV 24), Guanyuan (CV 4), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Shenshu (BL 23), Ciliao (BL 32), etc. once a day, 5 times a week for 3 months. The western medication group was treated by oral administration of climen. The drug was given 1 tablet a day for 21 days and was stopped for 1 week as a course. The treatment was required 3 consecutive courses. The self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) score, modified Kupperman index (KI) score, agitated and depressive symptom scores in KI and serum level of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the SAS scores, KI scores and serum levels of FSH in the two groups and the scores of agitated and depressive symptom in the acupuncture group were lower than those before treatment ( CONCLUSION Regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy acupuncture therapy can effectively improve the negative emotions of patients with POI and reduce serum level of FSH .
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; Humans ; Menstruation ; Pregnancy ; Primary Ovarian Insufficiency/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effect of acupuncture at "thirteen acupoints for regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy" on diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and its influence on ovarian reserve function. METHODS: A total of 32 patients with DOR were treated by acupuncture at "thirteen acupoints for regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy". Acupoints group 1: Baihui (GV 20), Shenting (GV 24), Benshen (GB 13), Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Guanyuan (CV 4), Zigong (EX-CA 1), Dahe (KI 12), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Taichong (LR 3); acupoints group 2: Baihui (GV 20), Shenshu (BL 23), Ciliao (BL 32). Acupoints group 1 and group 2 were alternately used, and acupoints group 1 was used for the first time. The needles were stayed for 30 min each time, once every 1 or 2 days, 3 times a week, 36 times (3 months) as a course of treatment. The treatment could be continued until the patient was pregnant or the patient given up acupuncture, and the acupuncture was uninterrupted during menstruation. The changes of modified Kupperman scale score, serum sex hormones, anti-müllerian hormones (AMH), ovarian peak systolic velocity (PSV), resistive index (RI) and antral follicle count (AFC) were compared before and after treatment, and the clinical effect and pregnancy rate were observed. RESULTS: The total score of modified Kupperman scale after treatment was lower than that before treatment (<0.05); The total effective rate was 90.6% (29/32) and the pregnancy rate was 15.6% (5/32). After treatment, the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), FSH/ luteinizing hormone (LH) were lower than before treatment, ovarian PSV was higher than before treatment, RI was lower than before treatment, and AFC was more than before treatment (<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture at "thirteen acupoints for regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy" can effectively improve the ovarian reserve function of DOR patients.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; therapy ; Menstruation ; Ovarian Reserve ; Pregnancy ; Prospective Studies