Effects of Electroacupuncture and Electroacupuncture Plus Tao Hong Si Wu Wan in Treating Primary Dysmenorrhea

This study investigated the efficacies of electroacupuncture and electroacupuncture combined with Tao Hong Si Wu Wan in treating primary dysmenorrhea and compared the results with those obtained using conventional medical treatment. One treatment group, group 1, was administered Tao Hong Si Wu Wan (2625 mg) while the other, group 2, was administered a placebo (2625 mg) twice daily for 3 months. Electroacupuncture was used in both treatment groups: two sessions per menstrual cycle for three menstrual cycles. The reference group, group 3, was administered ibuprofen, 600 mg, twice daily, for five menstrual cycles. Uses of the herb, placebo and ibuprofen were blinded. A ridit analysis was used for testing and interpreting the effects of treatment. Pain intensity was determined using a qualitative grading method in a blinded manner. The ridit scores in groups 1 and 2 were significantly higher than those in reference group immediately after treatment and three months later. Twelve months after the treatment, group 1 had a higher ridit score than group 2. In comparison to the reference group, groups 1 and 2 achieved better menstrual pain relief both immediately and 3 months after treatment. In addition, group 1 had better long-term pain relief than group 2.     

Restoration and protection of brachial plexus injury： hot topics in the last decade

Brachial plexus injury is frequently induced by injuries, accidents or birth trauma. Upper limb function may be partially or totally lost after injury, or left permanently disabled. With the de- velopment of various medical technologies, different types of interventions are used, but their effectiveness is wide ranging. Many repair methods have phasic characteristics, i.e., repairs are done in different phases. This study explored research progress and hot topic methods for pro- tection after brachial plexus injury, by analyzing 1,797 articles concerning the repair of brachial plexus injuries, published between 2004 and 2013 and indexed by the Science Citation Index database. Results revealed that there are many methods used to repair brachial plexus injury, and their effects are varied. Intervention methods include nerve transfer surgery, electrical stimula- tion, cell transplantation, neurotrophic factor therapy and drug treatment. Therapeutic methods in this field change according to the hot topic of research.     

Electroacupuncture attenuates neuropathic pain after brachial plexus injury

Electroacupuncture has traditionally been used to treat pain, but its effect on pain following brachial plexus injury is still unknown. In this study, rat models of an avulsion injury to the left brachial plexus root(associated with upper-limb chronic neuropathic pain) were given electroacupuncture stimulation at bilateral Quchi(LI11), Hegu(LI04), Zusanli(ST36) and Yanglingquan(GB34). After electroacupuncture therapy, chronic neuropathic pain in the rats' upper limbs was significantly attenuated. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the expression of β-endorphins in the arcuate nucleus was significantly increased after therapy. Thus, experimental findings indicate that electroacupuncture can attenuate neuropathic pain after brachial plexus injury through upregulating β-endorphin expression.     

Clinical study on electroacupuncture for obese patients with binge eating disorder: A retrospective study

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a common dietary disorder among obese people. Obesity and eating disorders are related to mental health and physical health. At present, there is no definite and effective method for treatment in clinic. The curative effect of electroacupuncture on obesity is definite. Although there is no conclusive evidence to support its long-term benefits, electroacupuncture has been increasingly used in clinic. This retrospective study determined the prognosis and outcome of electro-acupuncture on obese patients with BED.One hundred forty-three patients with BED and obesity were found from 658 people who participated in the scientific experiment of obesity treatment in Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nanjing Brain Hospital from March 2015 to June 2018, and 84 patients (aged 18–40 years old) with valid data and uninterrupted treatment were found to be eligible for this retrospective study. According to the intervention methods, the patients were divided into electro-acupuncture combined with cognitive group (n = 32), cognitive therapy group (n = 28), and control group (n = 24). In this study, the 5th edition of Diagnosis and Statistics Manual of Mental Diseases, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, body fat rate, muscle mass, visceral index grade, nutrient intake (energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate), body weight, and weight changes before and after treatment were observed.Compared with the cognitive therapy group, negative emotion score, TC, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, waist circumference, BW, BMI, body fat percentage of the electroacupuncture combined with cognitive group were lower, while positive emotional scores were higher, and there were significant differences in negative emotional scores, TC, waist circumference and BMI (P < .05). The dietary energy and three major nutrients in the electroacupuncture combined with cognitive group were lower than those in the cognitive group and the blank group (P < .05).The current results suggest that electroacupuncture combined with cognitive therapy is more effective than cognitive therapy alone in treating obese patients with BED. Future prospective studies are necessary to further study the mechanism of electroacupuncture on the obese with BED.     

Effect and Safety of CX-DZ-Ⅱ Intelligent Electroacupuncture Therapeutic Instrument for Neck Pain Caused by Cervical Spondylos: Study Protocol for A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Neck pain caused by cervical spondylosis(CS) is a chronic pain condition, with an increasingly high incidence in the general population. Electroacupuncture is a common analgesic modality that has been widely applied in neck pain treatment. However, current electroacupuncture instruments used in the clinic have low intelligence levels and obscure parameter standards. We here designed this study for assessing the effect and safety of a new, intelligent electroacupuncture instrument, the CX-DZ-Ⅱ, in treating neck pain. Methods: The present study is a prospective, two-center, randomized, controlled, open-label, non-inferiority trial for CX-DZ-Ⅱ on treating neck pain caused by CS. Totally 160 eligible patients will be included in this trial and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group in a 1:1 ratio. A semi-standard acupoint selection strategy will be employed. In the experimental group, selected acupoints will be stimulated by CX-DZ-Ⅱ. Electroacupuncture treatment will be accomplished by a pre-existing electroacupuncture instrument in the control group. The duration of treatment will be 2 weeks. The primary outcome is the change of Visual Analog Scale(VAS) score after one course of treatment. The secondary outcomes include the VAS scores after each treatment, the responder rate, drug-usage rate of non-steroidal antipyretic analgesics, the rate of adverse events occurrence, and the performance of instrument. Discussion: This study will evaluate the effect and safety of the CX-DZ-Ⅱ intelligent electroacupuncture therapeutic instrument in comparison with a pre-existing non-intelligent instrument in the treatment of neck pain caused by CS. The results will hopefully demonstrate a more optimal electroacupuncture instrument for the treatment of neck pain.(Trial registration No. gov NCT03005301).     

Mechanisms of Electroacupuncture on Alzheimer''s Disease: A Review of Animal Studies

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is the main type of dementia affecting elderly people. The medicines used for treating AD have limits in their ability to alleviate cognitive and functional decline. Electroacupuncture(EA), an economical alternative and complementary therapeutic measure used in Chinese medicine, has strong clinical applicability, and its treatment effects are more reliable as its stimulation factors can be standardized. EA has been effectively used for ameliorating spatial learning and memory impairment in AD patients and rodent AD models. Here, we summarized the mechanisms of EA on rodent AD models, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for identifying new targets and research directions, and exploring appropriate EA stimulation parameters, then provide a detailed methodology to optimize the effects of EA, ultimately reducing the heavy burden of treating AD patients on families and countries. Our review showed that 8 acupoints were used when treating AD animals; Baihui(GV 20) was the most frequently used. Four mechanisms of EA were studied:(1) protection of cerebral neurons from oxidative stress, apoptosis, neuroinflammation, synaptic plasticity and hormone levels;(2) regulation of metabolism, including glucose metabolism and plasma metabolism;(3) regulation of brainderived neurotrophic factor; and(4) regulation of β-amyloid peptide protein deposition.     

An insulin-dependent hypoglycaemia induced by electroacupuncture at the Zhongwan (CV12) acupoint in diabetic rats

Summary Acupuncture at the Zhongwan acupoint has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve symptoms of diabetes mellitus. Our study investigated the effect on plasma glucose of electroacupuncture applied at the Zhongwan acupoint in rat diabetic models. Plasma concentrations of insulin, glucagon and β-endorphin were also determined using radioimmunoassay. A decrease in plasma glucose was observed in rats after electroacupuncture (15 Hz, 10 mA) for 30 min at the Zhongwan acupoint. This was observed in normal rats and rat models with Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. No significant effect on plasma glucose was observed in rat models with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus; neither the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats nor the genetic (BB/W) rats. Further, the hypoglycaemic action of electroacupuncture stimulation disappeared in rats with insulin-resistance induced by an injection of human long-acting insulin repeated daily to cause the loss of tolbutamide-induced hypoglycaemia. An insulin-related action can thus be hypothesised. This hypothesis is supported by an increase in plasma insulin-like immunoreactivity after electroacupuncture stimulation in normal rats. Participation of glucagon was ruled out because there was no change in plasma glucagon-like immunoreactivity resulting from electroacupuncture stimulation. In addition to an increase in plasma β-endorphin-like immunoreactivity, the plasma glucose lowering action of electroacupuncture stimulation at Zhongwan acupoint was abolished by naloxone in a sufficient dose to block opioid receptors. Thus we suggest that electroacupuncture stimulation at the Zhongwan acupoint induces secretion of endogenous β-endorphin which reduces plasma glucose concentration in an insulin-dependent manner. [Diabetologia (1999) 42: 250–255] Received: 8 June 1998 and in final revised form: 5 October 1998     

Effects of electroacupuncture on gastric mucosal blood flow and transmucosal potential difference in stress rats

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电针干预豚鼠膜迷路积水的参数优选及其对耳蜗AQP2表达的影响

[目的]观察不同频率电针对豚鼠膜迷路积水的干预情况,以期优选出电针治疗膜迷路积水的适宜治疗参数,并初步探讨电针治疗梅尼埃病的可能机制。[方法]健康雄性豚鼠48只,采用完全随机法分为空白组、模型组、假电针组、电针组(据不同频率分为3个亚组),每组8只。除空白组外,其余各组均通过腹腔注射醋酸去氨加压素的方法建立膜迷路积水模型。空白组不进行干预;模型组造模后仅采取与各治疗组动物相同的固定方式,不行其他干预;电针组中各个亚组,取"百会"和左侧"听宫"穴,分别以2、15、100Hz 3种不同频率进行电针治疗,1次/d,输出电流1mA,留针20min;假电针组予针刺"百会"和左侧"听宫"穴,但不通电,其余处理同电针组,均连续治疗10d。干预结束后,采用听觉脑干诱发电位仪检测各组豚鼠听性脑干反射(auditory brairstem response,ABR)反应阈值,HE染色检测耳蜗积水程度,并通过公式蜗管横截面积/(蜗管横截面积+前庭阶横截面积)计算出比值(R值),免疫组化染色法检测耳蜗水通道蛋白2(aquaporin 2,AQP2)表达情况。[结果]各组豚鼠ABR反应阈值比较,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。与空白组比较,模型组豚鼠耳蜗R值增加(P<0.01);与模型组比较,各治疗组豚鼠耳蜗R值均降低(P<0.01,P<0.05);与假电针组比较,100Hz电针组R值降低(P<0.01),2、15Hz电针组R值均较假电针组降低,但差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。各电针组组间比较,100Hz电针组R值较2、15Hz电针组降低,差异有统计学意义(均P<0.05);2、15Hz电针组比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。与空白组比较,模型组豚鼠耳蜗AQP2表达增强(P<0.01);与模型组比较,各治疗组豚鼠耳蜗AQP2表达减弱(P<0.01,P<0.05);各治疗组间比较AQP2表达差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。[结论]假电针及电针治疗均能减轻豚鼠膜迷路积水,其中100Hz电针效果最佳,其作用机制可能与下调耳蜗AQP2的表达有关。     

电针刺激对脑缺血大鼠神经干细胞分化的影响

目的研究电针刺激对脑缺血大鼠神经干细胞分化的影响。方法制作大鼠大脑中动脉闭塞模型(MCAO),随机分为电针组和模型组。电针组电针刺激"百会"和"风府"穴,模型组不予电针。免疫荧光双标法检测5-溴脱氧尿苷-神经元特异性烯醇化酶(BrdU/NSE)和5-溴脱氧尿苷-胶质纤维酸性蛋白(BrdU/GFAP)阳性细胞的表达。结果两组间BrdU/NSE阳性细胞表达比较差异有显著性(F=1 069.23,P<0.01);组内不同时间BrdU/NSE阳性细胞表达比较差异均有显著性(F=1.90、355.51,P<0.01)。组间BrdU/GFAP阳性细胞表达比较差异有显著性(F=28 100.21,P<0.01);组内不同时间BrdU/GFAP阳性细胞表达比较差异有显著性(F=6.50、90.18,P<0.01)。结论电针刺激能促进脑缺血大鼠NSE和GFAP的表达。