Traditional Chinese medicine Dingkun pill to increase fertility in women with a thin endometrium-a prospective randomized study

Fengyu Jin; Xiangyan Ruan; Shuang Qin; Xin Xu; Yu Yang; Muqing Gu; Yanqiu Li; Jiaojiao Cheng; Juan Du; Xiaodan Yin; Alfred O Mueck

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1168175

Traditional Chinese medicine Dingkun pill to increase fertility in women with a thin endometrium-a prospective randomized study

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Sep 28:14:1168175. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1168175. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Fengyu Jin¹, Xiangyan Ruan¹, Shuang Qin¹, Xin Xu¹, Yu Yang¹, Muqing Gu¹, Yanqiu Li¹, Jiaojiao Cheng¹, Juan Du¹, Xiaodan Yin², Alfred O Mueck^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University. Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
² Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Women's Health, University of Tuebingen, University Women's Hospital and Research Centre for Women's Health, Tuebingen, Germany.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to optimize the treatment methods of infertility, which is suggested to be mainly caused by thin endometrium, using a special form of traditional Chinese medicine, the Dingkun pill (DKP), to increase the beneficial endometrial effect of conventional hormone/progestogen therapy.

Methods: A total of 307 patients visiting our specialized gynecological endocrinology department because of infertility, which we suggested to be caused by thin endometrium [endometrial thickness (EMT) < 7 mm], were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group was treated with estradiol + sequential dydrogesterone + DKP (every day); the control group received hormonal treatment without the Chinese medicine. All patients were monitored in terms of follicle diameter, EMT, and endometrial type every 2 days from the 8th to the 10th day of the menstrual cycle until ovulation day during three menstrual cycles. Serum progesterone levels on 7-8 days after ovulation were measured, and the cumulative pregnancy rate during three menstrual cycles between the two groups was compared.

Results: EMT on ovulation day in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (7.88 vs. 7.15 mm; p < 0.001). The proportion of type A and type B endometrium in total was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group (83.2% vs. 77.7%; p < 0.05). Progesterone levels were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the control group (10.874 vs. 10.074 ng/mL; p < 0.001). The cumulative pregnancy rate, the main outcome of the study, was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group (29.2% vs. 15.7%; p < 0.05).

Conclusion: DKP added to conventional estrogen/progestogen therapy can significantly improve EMT and luteal function in patients attending due to infertility. Because this regimen increased the cumulative pregnancy rate in our study, we conclude that DKP can be used to increase the so-called "thin endometrium infertility".

Keywords: Dingkun pill; estrogen; infertility; thin endometrium; traditional Chinese medicine.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Endometrium
Estradiol
Female
Fertility
Humans
Infertility, Female* / therapy
Luteinizing Hormone
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
Pregnancy
Progesterone*
Progestins / pharmacology
Prospective Studies

Substances

Progesterone
Progestins
Luteinizing Hormone
Estradiol

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Incubating Program (PZ2019031) and Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals’ Ascent Plan (No. DFL20181401).