AIM: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on females' menopausal symptoms with the therapeutic prescription of invigorating the kidney, recuperating the relevant viscera and regulating yin and yang. METHODS: Totally 65 female patients with menopausal symptoms from Shangdong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 1998 to April 1999 were divided into acupuncture group (n = 33) and oryzanol group (n = 32) at random. Another 15 healthy procreated-aged females (female workers in Jinan Number 2 Steel Mill) aged 20 to 30 years were taken as normal controls. With the previous prescription, the acupuncture adopted bilateral Shenshu (BL23), Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) as main acupoints while bilateral Neiguan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7), Taichong (LR3), unilateral Baihui (DU20) and Danzhong (RN17) as assistant acupoints. In addition, bilateral Ganshu (BL18), Taixi (KI3), Dahe (KI12) were added for yin deficiency, and bilateral Pishu (BL20) and unilateral Guanyuan (RN4) were added for yang deficiency. Uniform reinforcing-reducing method was used. The needles were retained for 30 minutes, conveying every 10 minutes, once a day for continuous 6 days in a week, and 4 weeks was one period of treatment. Patients in oryzanol group took orally 20 mg oryzanol, three times a day continuously for 4 weeks. The menopausal Kuppermanr index (MI) was measured before and after one period of treatment. According to the modified MI assessment method, MI ratio = MI after treatment/MI before treatment. Markedly effective: MI ratio < 25% <= MI ratio <= 80%; Invalid: MI ratio > 80%. On the next day after the first diagnosis and within three days after one period of treatment (8 am to 9 am), 5 ml fasting blood sample were extracted from elbow veins of both patients and normal controls. Radioimmunological analysis was applied for the detection of beta-endorphin (beta-EP) in peripheral blood. RESULTS: There were respective 2 cases lost in acupuncture group and oryzanol group due to outgoing. Finally 31 cases in acupuncture group and 30 patients in oryzanol group along with 15 normal controls were involved in the result analysis. (1) Compared with oryzanol, acupuncture got the higher effective rates in the treatment of hectic fever, desudation, sensory disorder, insomnia, apt-excite, urinary infection, depression and suspiciousness, dizzy, headache, arthralgia, palpitation, tend to be tired and formication of skin (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). (2) MI ratio of both groups decreased remarkably after treatment, and the difference was significant (p < 0.05). (3) Acupuncture group: 4 cases were markedly effective; 26 cases were improved; 1 case was irresponsive, and improve rate was 97%; Oryzanol group: 2 cases were markedly effective; 20 cases were improved; 8 cases were irresponsive, and improve rate was 73%. The difference between the groups was significant (Chi2 = 4.927, p < 0.05). (4) Before treatment, the beta-EP level of the patients was decreased significantly compared with healthy procreated-aged women (94.348 +/- 30.860, 177.133 +/- 43.203 mg/L, t = 7.404, p < 0.01); This level was increased significantly after acupuncture treatment (136.145 +/- 54.691, 94.348 +/- 30.860 mg/L, t = 3.632, p < 0.05). But compared with healthy procreated-aged women, the difference was still significant after treatment. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture has good effects on the females' menopausal symptoms efficiently. Compared with healthy procreated-aged women, the beta-EP level of the patients decreased significantly before treatment, but increases significantly after acupuncture. This indicates that acupuncture has the entire regulatory function on neuroendocrine-immunological network internal environment by means of promoting the release of beta-EP and elevating the level of peripheral beta-EP.

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