Hammar M, Frisk J, Grimås O, Höök M, Spetz A C, Wyon Y
Department of Health and Environment, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, Sweden.
J Urol. 1999 Mar;161(3):853-6.
Most men who undergo castration therapy for prostatic carcinoma will have vasomotor symptoms that usually persist for years. Vasomotor symptoms are elicited from the thermoregulatory center, possibly due to a decrease in hypothalamic opioid activity induced by low sex steroid concentrations. Acupuncture treatment in women, which stimulates hypothalamic opioid activity, alleviates vasomotor symptoms. We report on men treated with acupuncture for relief of vasomotor symptoms after castration therapy.
We asked 7 men with vasomotor symptoms due to castration therapy to receive acupuncture treatment 30 minutes twice weekly for 2 weeks and once a week for 10 weeks. Effects on flushes were recorded in logbooks.
Of the 7 men 6 completed at least 10 weeks of acupuncture therapy and all had a substantial decrease in the number of hot flushes (average 70% after 10 weeks). At 3 months after the last treatment the number of flushes was 50% lower than before therapy. Therapy was discontinued after 10 weeks because of a femoral neck fracture in 1 man and after 3 weeks due to severe back pain in 1.
Acupuncture may be a therapeutic alternative in men with hot flushes after castration therapy and merits further evaluation.
大多数接受前列腺癌去势治疗的男性会出现血管舒缩症状，且这些症状通常会持续数年。血管舒缩症状由体温调节中枢引发，可能是由于低性激素浓度导致下丘脑阿片类活性降低所致。针刺治疗可刺激女性下丘脑阿片类活性，从而缓解血管舒缩症状。我们报告了对接受去势治疗后出现血管舒缩症状的男性进行针刺治疗的情况。
我们让7名因去势治疗出现血管舒缩症状的男性接受针刺治疗，每周两次，每次30分钟，持续2周，之后每周一次，持续10周。潮热情况记录在日志中。
7名男性中有6名完成了至少10周的针刺治疗，所有人潮热次数均大幅减少（10周后平均减少70%）。在最后一次治疗后3个月，潮热次数比治疗前降低了50%。1名男性因股骨颈骨折在10周后停止治疗，另1名因严重背痛在3周后停止治疗。
针刺疗法可能是去势治疗后出现潮热症状男性的一种治疗选择，值得进一步评估。
