The study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden involved 20 women aged 30 years. They were divided into three groups and received either low-frequency electro-acupuncture or exercise therapy. A third group acted as untreated control group during the 16-week study.

The acupuncture group received 14 treatments with points located in abdominal muscles and back of the knee. The needles were stimulated with low-frequency electrical charge, which was enough to cause muscle contraction, but not obvious pain.

The exercise group was told to take up brisk walking, cycling or any other aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes per day. They were given pulse meters and were told to keep their pulse rate above 120 for the 30-45 minute duration.

The researchers found that both the acupuncture and exercise groups had significantly decreased muscle sympathetic nerve activity compared to the control group. Elevated sympathetic nerve activity is thought to play a role in the development of obesity and heart disease in PCOS.

The researchers also found that menstrual irregularities were less in the acupuncture group, but did not change in the exercise group.  The exercise group had a significant reduction in weight and body mass index, but there was no difference in waist size, which dropped in the acupuncture group.

“This is the first study to demonstrate that repeated low-frequency electro-acupuncture and physical exercise can reduce high sympathetic nerve activity seen in women with PCOS,” the authors wrote.

The details of the study appear in the online edition of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 in 15 women worldwide and causes fertility issues interfering with ovulation. Most treatments deal with symptoms only, but as the above study shows, acupuncture and exercise may hold the ke to effective treatment for the condition.