Correlaciones neurofisiológicas de la acción de la YNSA en pacientes con dolores crónicos del aparato locomotor: Investigación básica de la YNSA mediante TC-PET

Abstract

Background : The practical and clinical application of YNSA yields rapid and permanently positive results for patients experiencing pain of the locomotor system. The target structures in the central nervous system prone to infl uence by YNSA in cases of acute and chronic pain have not yet been identified. The study presented here was motivated by the promising results obtained by acupuncture research using imaging methods. Aim : The aim of the presented study was to investigate potential areas of the central nervous system infl uenced by YNSA in the treatment of patients with chronic pain resulting from diseases of the locomotor system by measuring changes in the cerebral glucose metabolism via PETCT scan. Methods : Positron emission tomography (PET) uses radioactively labelled glucose molecules to measure the metabolic activity in selected regions of the human body. In the brain, the method has the advantage of permitting the indirect quantification of brain activity. In the present study, two PET-CT scans were performed at a few days’ intervals on each of 3 patients suff ering from chronic pain of the locomotor. While the first scan served as a reference, YNSA treatment was applied shortly before the second scan. The results of the 2 scans subsequently were compared. Additionally, changes in the pain experienced were measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS). Results : On average, YNSA led to a significant increase in neural activity in cortical and subcortical areas. Activated areas were located in the periaqueductal grey, thalamus, insular cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, lateral frontal and prefrontal cortex, as well as in the cerebellum and the basal ganglia. For all three patients, a comparison of the VAS values indicated considerable pain relief after YNSA. Conclusion : All patients profited perceptibly from one single application of YNSA and experienced significant pain relief. The areas of increased activity can be assigned to the nociceptive and the motor system, which represents a possible explanation for the most frequently observed eff ects of YNSA.