Abstract
Purpose: Premature ovarian failure (POF) includes cessation of normal ovarian function before age 40, causing amenorrhea, menopausal symptoms and general health problems. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be administered in order to prevent menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis and vascular complications. Due to the contraindications and side effects of HRT and the increasing demand for alternative therapeutic modalities, we used Mentha longifolia, which is known in the Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), as being able to cause menstrual bleeding in women with early amenorrhea and decreased FSH serum. Methods: In this pilot study, we report twenty seven amenorrheic women with POF who were referred to the Iranian traditional medicine clinic in Tehran and treated by Mentha longifolia. All those patients had high FSH levels and amenorrhea. They were in their fertility age, between 30 to 40 years old. They were asked to take a cup of herbal tea which was steeped with Mentha longifolia tea three times a day for 2 weeks in 3 menstural cycles. If the patients developed menstruation, the FSH serum level was measured immediately; otherwise they had an FSH measurement one month after the beginning of therapy. Results: Mean age of patients was 36.44 ± 1.5 years. Mean FSH level before treatment was 79.13 ± 19.17 mIU/ml, and after treatment was 27.83 ± 16.14 mIU/ml. In four patients who did not have any response, mean range of FSH was 82.37 ± 19.75 mIU/ml before treatment and afterwards it was 81.97 ± 21.52 mIU/ml. After treatment with herbal teas, there was a significant decrease in FSH (79.39 ± 19.17 to 27.83 ± 16.14 mIU/ml, p value
Highlights
Premature ovarian failure (POF) generally describes a syndrome consisting of amenorrhea, estrogen deficiency and elevated/menopausal levels of gonadotropins in women age below 40
The study was opened after approval by the Institutional review Board (IRB) of the Tehran University of Medical sciences and Shahid Beheshti University of medical Sciences; and all the entered the study after receiving enough explanation about the study and signing an onset form approved by IRB
Twenty Seven patients who were seen at the Iranian traditional medicine outpatient clinic with the chief complaint of amenorrhea with at least two occasions of elevated Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were included in this pilot study
Summary
Premature ovarian failure (POF) generally describes a syndrome consisting of amenorrhea, estrogen deficiency and elevated/menopausal levels of gonadotropins in women age below 40. There is evidence that POF often affects the quality of life in women and they consider it as a shocking development which leaves most of them feeling “out of synchrony“ in their lives (Groff et al 2005) [2]. Women with POF have been reported to have a 50% higher mortality rate than women with menopause at age 52 - 55 (Maclaran et al 2010) [3]. POF is associated with significant morbidity due to lower life expectancy and higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, psychological problems, sexual dysfunction and sub fertility (Maclaran et al 2010) [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
