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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Reproduction
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1509152
This article is part of the Research Topic Traditional Chinese Medicine Strategies for Preventing and Treating Reproductive Endocrine Disorders Caused by Various Factors View all articles

Acupuncture for hormonal readiness and gut microbiota in obese polycystic ovary syndrome: An open-label, randomized controlled trial

Provisionally accepted
Tianyu Wu Tianyu Wu 1Guixing Xu Guixing Xu 1Xiaojuan Hong Xiaojuan Hong 1*Huaying Fan Huaying Fan 1Jiuzhi Zeng Jiuzhi Zeng 2*Yu Liu Yu Liu 1Jinqun Hu Jinqun Hu 1*FanRong Liang FanRong Liang 1*Jie Yang Jie Yang 1*Jiao Chen Jiao Chen 1*
  • 1 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Sichuan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital, chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To explore whether acupuncture combined with clomiphene can reduce the luteinizing hormone-to follicle-stimulating hormone ratio and impact the gut microbiota in patients with obese polycystic ovary syndrome.Methods: This open-label, randomized, parallel-group controlled trial included 86 women aged 20-40 years with obese polycystic ovary syndrome and 19 healthy controls. Participants were randomly assigned to either an acupuncture combined with clomiphene group or a clomiphene-only group, with a healthy control group for comparison. The treatment lasted three menstrual cycles, with acupuncture administered three times weekly and clomiphene given daily from day five of menstruation for five consecutive days per cycle. The primary outcome was the change in the luteinizing hormone-to-follicle-stimulating hormone (LH/FSH) ratio. Secondary outcomes included levels of other sex hormones, glucose and lipid metabolism parameters, self-rating anxiety and depression scale scores, and gut microbiota composition.Results: Intention-to-treat analysis showed that the adjusted mean luteinizing hormone-to folliclestimulating hormone ratio decrease was -0.8 (95% CI: -1.14 to -0.46) in the acupuncture combined with clomiphene group and -0.22 (95% CI: -0.47 to 0.01) in the clomiphene group. The adjusted between-group difference was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.24 to 0.82, p < 0.001). The levels of Agathobacter faecis increased, and those of Erysipelatoclostridium spiroforme, Streptococcus lutetiensis, and Lactococcus lactis decreased after acupuncture combined with clomiphene treatment (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with clomiphene may be safe and effective, reduce the luteinizing hormone-to follicle-stimulating hormone ratio, and improve insulin resistance in obese polycystic ovary syndrome, and these outcomes may be related to the gut microbiota.

    Keywords: Acupuncture, hormonal readiness, Gut Microbiota, obese polycystic ovary syndrome, randomized controlled trial

    Received: 10 Oct 2024; Accepted: 20 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Xu, Hong, Fan, Zeng, Liu, Hu, Liang, Yang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiaojuan Hong, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
    Jiuzhi Zeng, Sichuan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital, chengdu, China
    Jinqun Hu, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
    FanRong Liang, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
    Jie Yang, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
    Jiao Chen, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.