Abstract
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a chronic microvascular complication of diabetes. The purpose of this study is to find the underlying mechanism for the effects of acupuncture in DPN rats. Rats were rendered diabetic with a single injection of 35 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). These STZ-diabetic rats were treated with acupuncture for 20 min once daily. The therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture was assessed using mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) evaluations. After 14 days treatment, acupuncture markedly reduced the pathological injury in STZ-diabetic rats. Moreover, it significantly down-regulated P2X4 and OX42 expression along with the reduced levels of inflammatory factors (CXCR3, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6), GSP and lipid metabolisms in the spinal cord of the DPN rats. Acupuncture could relieve DPN in rats by regulating P2X4 expression and inflammation in spinal microglia.
Highlights
According to traditional Chinese medicine theory (TCMT), diabetes mellitus (DM) is referred to as Xiaokezheng [1]
Acupuncture relieved the pain induced by diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in rats Post 14 days of acupuncture treatment at the “Feishu”, “Pishu” and “Shenshu” acupoints, we found that the acupuncture significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) of DPN rats (Fig. 1a, b)
After providing 14 days of acupuncture treatment; the levels of these were decreased in DPN + Acu group compared to the DPN group (P < 0.001)
Summary
According to traditional Chinese medicine theory (TCMT), diabetes mellitus (DM) is referred to as Xiaokezheng [1]. It belongs to the categories of “arthromyodynia”, “numbness”, “unfeeling”, and “blood arthralgia”, described by excessive drinking, eating, and production of urine [2]. Pharmacological therapy is effective in improving the clinical symptoms of DPN, but it is associated with considerable side effects in a longterm drug treatment [8]. With applied pharmacological therapies, TCM provides effective treatment options with relatively mild adverse effects [9, 10]. The use of TCM in the treatment of DPN is endearing a lot of attention among scholars, especially, the acupuncture [9]. Acupuncture is a complex intervention that various disorders can effectively be cured by inserting long, fine needles into
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