title: Effects of acupuncture and exercise on insulin sensitivity, adipose tissue characteristics, and markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the possible effects of low-frequency electroacupuncture (EA) and physical exercise on markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis, insulin sensitivity, and adipose tissue characteristics in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analyses of a prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Department of Physiology and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Gothenburg.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-four women with PCOS were randomized.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women with PCOS were randomized to 16 weeks of low-frequency EA (14 treatments), physical exercise (at least 3 times/wk), or no intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anthropometrics, circulating coagulation and fibrinolytic markers, insulin sensitivity (euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp), hemodynamics, and adipose tissue morphology/function recorded at baseline, after 16 weeks of intervention, and after a 16-week follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the low-frequency EA group, circulating plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 activity decreased by 21.8% after 16 weeks of intervention and by 31.1% at the 16-week follow-up and differed from the physical exercise and the no intervention groups. The EA group had decreases in circulating fibrinogen and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), sagittal diameter, and diastolic blood pressure after treatment, and fibrinogen remained lower at the 16-week follow-up. In the physical exercise group, lipoprotein lipase activity increased and diastolic blood pressure decreased after treatment, and both diastolic and systolic blood pressure were lower at follow-up. No other variables were affected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-frequency EA counteracted a possible prothrombotic state in women with PCOS, as reflected by a decrease in plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 activity. Despite within-group improvements, there were no between-group differences in anthropometric, metabolic, or hemodynamic variables after 16 weeks of EA or physical exercise at the dose/intensity studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. elisabet.stener-victorin@neuro.gu.se
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stener-Victorin
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baghaei
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.forename: Per Olof
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Janson
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Olivecrona
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lönn
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mannerås-Holm
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D005342:Fibrinolysis; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000097:blood; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D050507:Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013548:Sweden; D013997:Time Factors; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000097:blood; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; C051321:SERPINE1 protein, human; D005340:Fibrinogen; C548261:LPL protein, human; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator