Response of cholesterol to cupping therapy in post-menopausal women with hypercholesterolemia

Hypercholesterolemia is common in post-menopausal women, increasing their risk for cardiovascular, thyroid, kidney and liver diseases, as well as diabetes mellitus. The current study aimed to investigate the response of cholesterol to cupping therapy in post-menopausal women with hypercholesterolemia. Forty post-menopausal women, having hypercholesterolemia, were randomized into 2 equal groups. Group (A) received cupping therapy, once/month for 3 months, while group (B) didn’t receive any therapy. All women were evaluated pre- and post-treatment by measuring the serum levels of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Comparing both groups post-treatment showed that there was a statistically significant reduction in serum levels of total cholesterol and LDL-C (P < 0.05), while there was a statistically significant increase in serum levels of HDL-C (P < 0.05) in favour of group (A). Cupping therapy is an effective method for improving serum cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic post-menopausal women through decreasing total cholesterol and LDL-C and increasing HDL-C.