Abstract
Acupuncture has been a powerful clinical tool for treating chronic diseases. However, there is currently no appropriate method to clarify the therapeutic effect of acupuncture. Here, we use photoacoustic tomography (PAT) to study the effect of acupuncture on mouse brain blood vessels. Ten healthy mice were stimulated with acupuncture needles on two acupoints. PAT images were obtained before and after acupuncture. We report that stimulation of certain acupoints resulted in changes in hemodynamics/blood flow at these points. The results demonstrate that PAT can non-invasively detect blood flow changes in mouse brain under acupuncture. This pilot study shows the potential of PAT as a visualization tool for illuminating the mechanism of acupuncture and promoting its clinical applications.
Highlights
Acupuncture is one of the essences of Chinese traditional medicine and has two-thousand years of application history
We developed a photoacoustic tomography (PAT) system to examine the change in blood flow in mouse brain in response to needle simulation on Yongquan acupoints
Our work shows the potential of PAT as a visualization tool for studying the mechanism of acupuncture
Summary
Acupuncture is one of the essences of Chinese traditional medicine and has two-thousand years of application history. In 1996, the world health organization (WHO) initially confirmed 64 kinds of diseases indicated by acupuncture. The mechanism of acupuncture is not clear, several hypotheses have been proposed. A research proposed that the neural system generates neural electrical signals evoked by acupuncture [1]. Another study indicated that acupuncture produces an effect by regulating the nervous system [2]. Hui observed that acupuncture can activate the limbic system and produce relevant responses with the sensorimotor system [3]. Acupuncture is regarded as an exogenous stimulation, and the mechanism is likely linked to the neuroendocrine system. Acupuncture primarily influences the neural system, respiratory system and cardiovascular systems
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