Danggwijagyaksan for climacteric syndrome in peri- and postmenopausal women with a blood-deficiency dominant pattern: study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial

• Published in: Current controlled trials in cardiovascular medicine 2018-01, Vol.19 (1), p.41-41, Article 41
• Main Authors: Kim, Mikyung, Kim, Ae-Ran, Park, Hyo-Ju, Kwon, Ojin, Kim, Joo-Hee, Park, Eun-Ji, Baek, Seon-Eun, Yoo, Jeong-Eun, Lee, Jun-Hwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis; Anemia; Cardiovascular disease; Climacteric syndrome; Clinical trials; Consent; Dangguishaoyaosan; Danggwijagyaksan; Double-Blind Method; Double-blind studies; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - adverse effects; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Endocrine therapy; Feasibility Studies; Female; Follicle-stimulating hormone; Health aspects; Herbal medicine; Hot flash; Humans; Lactose; Life expectancy; Medical research; Medicine; Menopause; Middle Aged; Ovaries; Patient compliance; Patients; Perimenopause - blood; Perimenopause - drug effects; Pharmaceutical industry; Pilot Projects; Postmenopausal women; Postmenopause - blood; Postmenopause - drug effects; Quality of Life; Randomized controlled trial; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Republic of Korea; Study Protocol; Surveys and Questionnaires; Syndrome; Time Factors; Tokishakuyakusan; Treatment Outcome; Vagina; Womens health
• ISSN: 1745-6215; 1745-6215
• DOI: 10.1186/s13063-018-2443-8

This study aims to explore the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of Danggwijagyaksan (DJS) for alleviating climacteric syndrome in peri- and postmenopausal women with a blood-deficiency dominant pattern. This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot clinical trial. A total of 34 women with climacteric syndrome who have signed informed consent forms will be registered in this study. Placebo or DJS will be randomly assigned to the participants in an equal proportion. The participants will visit the clinical trial center every 2 weeks and receive placebo or DJS granules. The treatment period is 4 weeks and the administration frequency is three times daily. Data will be collected from the participants at baseline, at week 5, and at week 9 after random allocation. The primary outcome measure will be the mean change in the Menopause Rating Scale from baseline to week 5. Secondary outcome measures will include the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) score, the Blood Deficiency Scoring System score, lean body mass, and blood tests, including serum follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol concentration. To assess the safety of DJS, a laboratory test will be conducted before and after treatment and the participants will be asked about any occurrence of adverse events every visit. The recruitment rate, completion rate, and medication adherence will also be calculated, to assess feasibility. The findings of this study will provide the basis for a full-scale randomized controlled trial to confirm the safety and efficacy of DJS for the treatment of climacteric syndrome in peri- and postmenopausal women. Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS), Republic of Korea, KCT0002387 . Registered on 25 July 2017.