Stimulation Of Acupuncture Points Research Articles

ALRAEK AND BAERHEIM RESPOND

Katz raises important issues, which need to be considered in further studies on acupuncture and recurrent cystitis. Our answers will, hopefully, further elucidate some of these points. The subjects in our study were asked to seek medical aid in case of acute symptoms of cystitis. If a doctor was not available, patients were instructed to culture a preaddressed dip-slide and mail it to the laboratory for bacteriological examination. Having provided urine for culture, the patients could start medical treatment or not, according to preference. Norwegian doctors normally prescribe a 3- to 5-day course of antibiotics for acute cystitis. None of the patients were put on more prolonged courses or continuous antibiotic prophylaxis during the study. Nor were they allowed to use cranberries for prophylaxis. We have no information on type of antibiotic used, as this decision was the responsibility of each patient’s family doctor. To our knowledge differences in treatment strategies for acute, uncomplicated cystitis in otherwise healthy women do not correlate to their further prognosis with regard to cystitis. We agree with Katz that further studies in complementary and alternative medicine should focus on biological plausibility of the findings as a key issue. As far as we know, our study is the first acupuncture study to focus on the relationship between recurrent cystitis and residual urine. These findings are in general relevant for understanding the pathogenesis of recurrent cystitis. In our most recent study,1 we also performed urodynamic studies and measurement of the vagal and adrenergic tone. However, these parameters did not indicate further explanations regarding the treatment effect. The American Food and Drug Administration has recommended acupuncture (stimulation of the P6 acupuncture point) as an antiemetic treatment. This recommendation is partly due to systematic reviews and meta-analysis concluding clinically significant results,2,3 but still the actual explanation for the effect is lacking. To clarify, residual urine was not incorporated as a parameter in our earlier study.4 Patients who became pregnant in our study were taken out of the study at the time the pregnancy was diagnosed. Cystitis occurring in pregnant women is by definition no longer uncomplicated5 and should of course be treated accordingly. At this stage it is too early for final conclusions, but we hope that other researchers can duplicate our results. This will add to evidence for the use of acupuncture as prophylactic treatment for recurrent cystitis in women of reproductive age.

Low power laser therapy in treatment of bronchial asthma

Modern concept of acupuncture is based on the fact there are designated locations on the surface of human body, which are related to integrative systems of an organism by means of sensory nerves, correlating and synchronizing organ functioning, depending on external and internal conditions, by means of nervous and neurohumoral regulation of metabolic and regenerative processes, including also mobilisation of immunological, protective and antistress reactions. Apart from standard needle acupuncture, other methods of stimulating acupuncture points are also applied. Due to invention of low power lasers, irradiation laser acupuncture has been introduced into routine medical practice, characterised by painless and aseptic technique and outstanding clinical results. The investigation was aimed at defining therapeutic effects of low power laser irradiation by stimulating acupuncture points or local treatment of asthma. A prospective analysis included 50 patients treated at the Institute of Pulmonary Diseases in Sremska Kamenica during 2000, 2001 and 2002. Together with conservative treatment of present disease, these patients were treated with laser stimulation of acupuncture points in duration of ten days. During treatment changes of functional respiratory parameters were recorded. Results were compared with those in the control group. The control group consisted of the same number of patients and differed from the examination group only by not using laser stimulation. Patients with bronchial asthma presented with significant improvement (p < 0000,5) of all estimated lung function parameters just 30 minutes after laser stimulation. Improvements achieved on the third and the tenth day of treatment were significantly higher (p < 0.001 to p < 0.00005) in the examination group in comparison with the control group. Further investigation confirmed that improvement of measured lung function parameters was significantly higher in younger patients, in patients whose disease lasted shorter, as well as in women. Patients with asthma, who were treated every three months for a one year period, presented with significantly lower frequency and intensity of attacks. The mechanism of laser stimulation activity in treatment of bronchial asthma is explained in detail, correlating our results to those obtained by other authors. A ten-day course of low-power laser stimulation of acupuncture points in patients with bronchial asthma improves both the lung function and gas exchange parameters. Positive effects of laser treatment in patients with bronchial asthma are achieved in a short time and they last long, for several weeks, even months. Successive laser stimulation in asthmatics prolongs periods of remission and decreases the severity of asthmatic attacks. Better positive effects of laser stimulation are achieved in younger asthmatics, in those with shorter disease history and in female patients. There is a negative correlation between effects of laser stimulation and patients' age and disease history. However, these characteristics do not affect response rate and speed but positive laser stimulation effects are achieved in a shorter period in female asthmatics.

Low-intensity laser therapy of pleuritis

Low-intensity lasers have been utilized in medicine in two ways: for local stimulation and for stimulation of acupuncture points. Literature data reveal that this method has been indiscriminately applied in psychiatry, rheumatology, gynecology, dermatology, otorhinolaryngology, in diverse acute and chronic pains, inflammations, vascular disorders, angina pectoris, bronchial asthma. Most commonly reported clinical effects are analgesia, spasmolytic and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as faster wound and bone healing. This prospective study analyses effects of laser biostimulation on patients with pleurisy. The analysis included 25 patients treated at the Institute of Lung Diseases in Sremska Kamenica during 2000, 2001 and 2002. Apart from conservative treatment, these patients were treated with laser biostimulation of acupuncture points and local region for ten days. During treatment, changes of present clinical signs, general symptoms, radiological findings, as well as changes of some relevant biochemical parameters were recorded. Results were compared with the control group which included the same number of patients, who differed from the examined group only by not being exposed to laser biostimulation. The examined group of patients with pleuritis presented with quicker resorption of pleural effusion, less pleural adhesions, more significant decrease of clinical symptoms, especially pain, as well as more significant increase of cortisol and immunoglobulin A and decrease of circulating immune complexes (CIC), leukocytes and sedimentation rate than the control group. Mechanisms of laser biostimulation in treatment of pleurisy were described in detail and the obtained results were correlated to those reported by other authors. 1. Patients with pleurisy undergoing laser stimulation presented with faster resorption of effusion and remission of the subjective symptoms, as well as significant decrease of biochemical acute inflammation parameters in the peripheral blood and therefore with faster recovery. 2. In patients with pleurisy laser treatment increases regenerative mechanisms of the pleural surface, thus decreasing the quantity of formed adhesions and resulting in better mobility of the diaphragm.

Ultrasonic Acupuncture and the Correlation Between Acupuncture Stimulation and the Activation of Associated Brain Cortices Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Using medical imaging techniques, such as fMRI, the stimulation of certain acupuncture points can be shown to correlate with activity in corresponding regions of the brain. Identical activity is also seen if the acupoint is stimulated with a pulse of ultrasound rather than a needle. This article reviews the advantages offered by ultrasonic acupuncture and the impact on the practice of acupuncture.

Exploring acupuncture: ancient ideas, modern techniques.

THIS TECHNICIAN IS demonstrating the use of lasers to stimulate acupuncture points. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, health is a state of balance between yang and yin, and between the 5 elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.1 Life energy, or qi, flows through the meridians of the body and may be accessed at several hundred points. The skilled acupuncturist is able to restore balance by using selected points to adjust the energy flow. Traditional medicine uses very fine needles or heated herbs (moxibustion), but the Chinese are now experimenting with a variety of stimulation techniques, including low-voltage electricity, laser beams, and sonar rays. The traditional Chinese system of meridians does not correspond with any anatomical structures recognized by Western medicine. David Eisenberg, the first American medical exchange student sent to China in 1979, reflects on the difficulty of translating between the 2 incommensurable systems of medicine in a lively account of his explorations in traditional Chinese medicine, Encounters With Qi.2 More recently, the Japanese scholar Shigehisa Kuriyama has offered a remarkable philosophical exploration of the ways in which these different conceptions of the body reflect different ways of thinking, ways of touching, ways of experiencing the body, and ways of being one’s “self.”3 Traditional Chinese medicine is thousands of years old and is associated with the legendary Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, written in the third or second century BC.4,5 Today, about 1 million traditionally trained doctors and pharmacists practice throughout China and eastern Asia, with smaller numbers working in the United States and other Western nations. For public health practitioners, it is interesting to note that traditional Chinese medicine places a great deal of emphasis on the prevention of disease and the body’s ability to resist illness. It is closely related to the practice of t’ai chi ch’uan, a set of exercises that for 24 centuries have been used to keep the body healthy.6 As visitors to China can attest, millions of people practice tai chi on a daily basis. In the early mornings, in any public park, it is a wonderful sight to watch crowds of people of all ages moving in unison through the gentle structured movements of tai chi.

Mechanisms of Acupuncture Analgesia Produced by Low - Frequency Electrical Stimulation of Acupuncture Points

Three noteworthy phenomena have been recognized in surgical acupuncture analgesia (AA) produced by low frequency electrical stimulation of acupuncture points: (1) consciousness is maintained, allowing the patient to talk during surgery, (2) stimulation of specific acupuncture points is essential to maintain analgesia, and (3) analgesia persists long after stimulation has been terminated, allowing the patient to move without pain after surgery. The mechanisms by which AA is produced might be clarified by investigating these phenomena. This review will explore possible mechanisms based on results from animal experiments.

Auricular acupuncture decreases neuropeptide Y expression in the hypothalamus of food-deprived Sprague–Dawley rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether stimulation of auricular acupuncture point has any effects on the expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY), appetite-inducing factor particularly abundant in the mammalian hypothalamus. In food-deprived condition, enhanced NPY expression was detected in both the arcuate nucleus (ARN) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus via immunohistochemistry in Sprague–Dawley rats. Needling the unfed rats on the auricular point resulted in decreased NPY levels in both the ARN and PVN, while it increased NPY levels in the ARN and PVN of fed rats. The present findings indicate that auricular acupuncture may affect NPY expression in the ARN and PVN of the hypothalamus.

Effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation of acupuncture points on autonomic and gastric functions

Effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation of acupuncture points on autonomic and gastric functions

Effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation of acupuncture points on autonomic and gastric functions

Effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation of acupuncture points on autonomic and gastric functions

Moxibustion treatment of breech presentation.

Breech presentation was successfully corrected by stimulating acupuncture points with moxibustion or low-frequency electrical current. Only patients with breech pregnancies at the 28th week or later were entered into the study. With moxibustion treatment, the control group had a spontaneous correction rate of 165/224 (73.66%), and the treatment group had a correction rate of 123/133 (92.48%) (P<0.0001, x2 test). With low-frequency percutaneous electrical stimulation, the correction rate was 20/941 (83.87%) in the control group and 171/191 (89.52%) in the treatment group (P=0.094, x2 test). The controls in the moxibustion study did no exercises and received no external manipulation to correct breech presentation whereas those in the electrical stimulation study experienced both. Acupuncture stimulation, especially with moxibustion, is expected to serve as a safe and effective modality in the management of breech presentation in a clinical setting.

봉독약침(蜂毒藥鍼)이 Writhing reflex 및 척수내(脊髓內) 통증관련(痛症關聯) 신경세포(神經細胞)의 활성(活性)에 미치는 영향(影響)

Introduction : In spite of the use of Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture in the clinics, the scientific evaluation on effects is not enough. Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture is used according to the stimulation of acupuncture point and the chemical effects of Bee Venom. The aims of this study is to investigate the analgegic effects of the Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture, through the change of writhing reflex Materials and Methods : Pain animal model was used acetic acid method. The changes of writhing reflex of the mice which were derived pain by injecting acetic acid into the abdomen, after stimulating Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture on Chungwan() and non acupuncture point on the backside were measured. Results : 1. It showed that the writhing reflex were appeared on the groups which injected aceticacid only, and saline-acetic acid group(sample I), but not on the group bee venom-saline group(sample II). 2. The change of writhing reflex by Chungwan() Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture showed significant decrease in the order of Chungwan() Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture group III(g/kg), II(g/kg), and I(g/kg), compared with control group. There were significant decrease of number of writhing reflex in minutes intervals of Chung wan() Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture group I, and in minutes intervals of II and III, compared with control group. 3. The change of writhing reflex by non acupuncture point Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture showed significant decrease in the minutes intervals and the total number of writhing reflex in g/kg group, compared with control group 4. The effects of writhing reflex of Chungwan() Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture group showed significant decrease, compared with non acupuncture point Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture group. Conclusion : This study shows that the Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture on Chungwan() decreases the numbers of writhing reflex. As the analgegic effects of Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture is recognized. Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture treatment is expected for pain modulation. In order to use it in many ways, more researches are needed for the dose and stability of Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture.

Specific Effects of Laserpuncture on the Cerebral Circulation

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that has developed over thousands of years. We studied the effects of laser puncture, needle acupuncture, and light stimulation on cerebral blood flow in 15 healthy volunteers (mean age 25.0±1.9 years, 5 female, 10 male) with non-invasive transcranial Doppler sonography. In addition 40-Hz stimulus-induced brain oscillations, heart rate, blood pressure, peripheral and cerebral oxygen saturation, and the bispectral index of the EEG were recorded. Stimulation with light significantly increased blood flow velocity in the posterior cerebral artery (p<0.01, ANOVA). Similar but less pronounced effects were seen after needle acupuncture (p< 0.05, ANOVA) and laserpuncture (n.s.) of vision-related acupuncture points. Furthermore both, laserpuncture and needle acupuncture, led to a significant increase in the amplitudes of 40-Hz cerebral oscillations. Stimulation of vision-related acupuncture points with laser light or needle acupuncture elicits specific effects in specific areas of the brain. The results indicate that the brain plays a key intermediate role in acupuncture. However, brain activity of itself does not explain anything about the healing power of acupuncture.

Stimulation of auricular acupuncture points in weight loss

Many overweight people are aware that diets can help with weight loss but have difficulty in suppressing their appetite. Acupuncture stimulates the auricular branch of the vagal nerve and raises serotonin levels, both of which have been shown to increase tone in the smooth muscle of the stomach, thus suppressing appetite. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of specific auricular acupuncture points on appetite suppression.Sixty overweight subjects, randomly divided into an active and a control group, used the AcuSlim device twice daily for four weeks. The active group attached the AcuSlim to the acupuncture ear points shenmen and stomach, whereas the control group attached the device to their thumb where there are no acupuncture points. The goal of a 2 kg weight loss was set and changes in appetite and weight were reported after four weeks.Of those who responded, 95% of the active group noticed suppression of appetite, whereas none of the control group noticed such a change. None of the control group lost the required 2 kg, with only 4 subjects losing any weight at all. Both the number of subjects who lost weight and the mean weight loss were significantly higher in the active group (p < 0.05).Frequent stimulation of specific auricular acupuncture points is an effective method of appetite suppression which leads to weight loss.

Moxibustion for Correction of Breech Presentation

Context.—Traditional Chinese medicine uses moxibustion (burning herbs to stimulate acupuncture points) of acupoint BL 67 (Zhiyin, located beside the outer corner of the fifth toenail), to promote version of fetuses in breech presentation. Its effect may be through increasing fetal activity. However, no randomized controlled trial has evaluated the efficacy of this therapy.Objective.—To evaluate the efficacy and safety of moxibustion on acupoint BL 67 to increase fetal activity and correct breech presentation.Design.—Randomized, controlled, open clinical trial.Setting.—Outpatient departments of the Women's Hospital of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, and Jiujiang Women's and Children's Hospital in the People's Republic of China.Patients.—Primigravidas in the 33rd week of gestation with normal pregnancy and an ultrasound diagnosis of breech presentation.Interventions.—The 130 subjects randomized to the intervention group received stimulation of acupoint BL 67 by moxa (Japanese term for Artemisia vulgaris) rolls for 7 days, with treatment for an additional 7 days if the fetus persisted in the breech presentation. The 130 subjects randomized to the control group received routine care but no interventions for breech presentation. Subjects with persistent breech presentation after 2 weeks of treatment could undergo external cephalic version anytime between 35 weeks' gestation and delivery.Main Outcome Measures.—Fetal movements counted by the mother during 1 hour each day for 1 week; number of cephalic presentations during the 35th week and at delivery.Results.—The intervention group experienced a mean of 48.45 fetal movements vs 35.35 in the control group (P<.001; 95% confidence interval [CI] for difference, 10.56-15.60). During the 35th week of gestation, 98 (75.4%) of 130 fetuses in the intervention group were cephalic vs 62 (47.7%) of 130 fetuses in the control group (P<.001; relative risk [RR], 1.58; 95% CI, 1.29-1.94). Despite the fact that 24 subjects in the control group and 1 subject in the intervention group underwent external cephalic version, 98 (75.4%) of the 130 fetuses in the intervention group were cephalic at birth vs 81 (62.3%) of the 130 fetuses in the control group (P=.02; RR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02-1.43).Conclusion.—Among primigravidas with breech presentation during the 33rd week of gestation, moxibustion for 1 to 2 weeks increased fetal activity during the treatment period and cephalic presentation after the treatment period and at delivery.

Relationship between the partitioning properties of motoneuron recruitment and the needle feeling propagation

Histological and physiological studies indicated that most skeletal muscles can be divided into a series of relatively independent sub-volumes: “neuromuscular compartments” and the partitioning property of the muscle result in the localization of muscle reflex. In the present experiment we studied the recruitment properties of medial gastracnemius (MG) muscle motoneumn pool of decerebrate cat with two kinds of local mechanical stimulation: local stretch and acupuncture-like stimuli. The results indicate that: (I) there is an obvious property of localization of recruitment activity, only the MNs which innervate the stimulated compartment were recruited by weaker and shorter stimuli; (ii) recruitment activity spread to those MNs which supply the adjacent and distal compartments during the strength of stimulation or duration of the stimulation was increased; and (iii) the recruitment property of muscle activity elicited by the local mechanical stimulation is thought similar to that of “needle feeling” along the meridian pathway during stimulation of acupuncture point.

Nausea and Vomiting: Underlying Mechanisms and Upcoming Treatments.

Nausea and vomiting (emesis) occur under a variety of conditions in response to activation of one or more emetic triggers, such as abdominal visceral, cardiac and vestibular nerve afferents, the area postrema chemoreceptor trigger zone in the caudal brainstem, and higher brain centers. The act of vomiting is coordinated by neuronal circuitry located in the brainstem and extending from the nucleus of the solitary tract through the lateral tegmental field of the reticular formation to the ventrolateral medulla. The sensation of nausea is thought to involve the cerebral cortex. The motor act of vomiting is produced primarily by complicated changes in the activity of the respiratory muscles. There are also complex changes in the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, which are mediated by the vagus nerve but are not essential for vomiting. The recently introduced serotonin type 3 receptor antagonists are very effective in combating nausea and vomiting induced by cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. More broad based anti-emetic action has been achieved in animal models by using serotonin type 1A receptor agonists and neurokinin type 1 receptor antagonists. Stimulation of the P6 acupuncture point is reported to be effective against motion and pregnancy sickness, and postoperative and cancer chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying nausea and vomiting and more effective treatments are still required, especially in conditions such as pregnancy sickness, postoperative nausea and vomiting, the delayed phase of vomiting following cisplatin therapy, and cyclical vomiting.

The effects of acupuncture, electroneedling and transcutaneous electrical stimulation therapies on peripheral haemodynamic functioning

For decades, acupuncture and electroneedling treatments have been used, predominately in the Eastern countries, in the management of patients with compromised cardiovascular and digestive functions. Similarly, neuromuscular electrical stimulation is commonly employed in Western countries to modulate pain, augment muscle strength and enhance blood flow in patients with peripheral vascular disease. Many rehabilitation specialists believe that electrical stimulation of acupuncture points with surface electrodes can elicit the same physiological and therapeutic effects as those produced by acupuncture and electroneedling techniques. Electrical stimulation of acupuncture points with surface electrodes is a relatively new and non-invasive treatment with potential clinical application in the management of patients with peripheral vascular disease. Presently, there are controversies in the literature as to the effects of traditional acupuncture, electroneedling and neuromuscular electrical stimulation treatments on peripheral haemodynamic functioning. This paper provides a detailed review of published studies on the above promising therapies. An attempt was made to clarify the pitfalls in the extant literature and delineate the fact from the fiction. Areas for further research were proposed.

Can acupuncture have specific effects on health? A systematic review of acupuncture antiemesis trials.

The effects of acupuncture on health are generally hard to assess. Stimulation of the P6 acupuncture point is used to obtain an antiemetic effect and this provides an excellent model to study the efficacy of acupuncture. Thirty-three controlled trials have been published worldwide in which the P6 acupuncture point was stimulated for treatment of nausea and/or vomiting associated with chemotherapy, pregnancy, or surgery. P6 acupuncture was equal or inferior to control in all four trials in which it was administered under anaesthesia; in 27 of the remaining 29 trials acupuncture was statistically superior. A second analysis was restricted to 12 high-quality randomized placebo-controlled trials in which P6 acupuncture point stimulation was not administered under anaesthesia. Eleven of these trials, involving nearly 2000 patients, showed an effect of P6. The reviewed papers showed consistent results across different investigators, different groups of patients, and different forms of acupuncture point stimulation. Except when administered under anaesthesia, P6 acupuncture point stimulation seems to be an effective antiemetic technique. Researchers are faced with a choice between deciding that acupuncture does have specific effects, and changing from 'Does acupuncture work?' to a set of more practical questions; or deciding that the evidence on P6 antiemesis does not provide sufficient proof, and specifying what would constitute acceptable evidence.

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation of Neiguan Anti-emetic Acupuncture Point in Controlling Sickness following Opioid Analgesia in Major Orthopaedic Surgery

<h2>Summary</h2> Despite the use of conventional anti-emetic therapy the incidence of emetic sequelae associated with the administration of postoperative opioid analgesia is regarded as presenting a major clinical problem. This study was designed to evaluate the benefit of using transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TCES) of the Neiguan acupuncture point, adjunct to standard anti-emetic drug therapy, in the control of nausea and vomiting in the first 24 hours post-operatively. A total of 230 patients, scheduled to undergo major orthopaedic surgery, were assigned randomly to one of four treatment regimens (which included a control group and a placebo treatment). Opioid analgesia was administered by standardised methods adopted in the unit. Prophylactic anti-emetics were administered to all patients, and rescue anti-emetics as required. Assessment of episodes of nausea, retching and vomiting was carried out at pre-determined time intervals in the initial 24-hour post-operative period. Results show the use of TCES to be an effective method of enhancing anti-emetic control following opioid analgesia, however, the effect was confined to female patients. Statistical analysis included a composite comparison across the four anti-emetic regimen groups using chi-squared (females χ² = 8.51, df=3, p=0.036; males χ² = 0.03, df=3, p=0.998). The technique was well accepted by the patients and the treatment regimen was easily established in the acute post-operative unit.

Activation of the satiety center by auricular acupuncture point stimulation

Stimulation of the rat inner auricular regions that correspond to the human pylorus, lung, trachea, stomach, esophagus, endocrine, and heart acupuncture points evoked potentials in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (HVM), the satiety center. Needle implantation into any of these points reduced the body weight to its initial 290 g after the rat had gained about 410 g in 20 days, and significantly reduced initial 450-g body weights ( p < 0.01, Student's τ test) in 14 days. Stimulation of other acupuncture points did not evoke HVM potentials and did not reduce body weight. After the HVM was lesioned, body weight increased and acupuncture point needling had no effect on body weight. Needling of the auricular acupuncture points evoked no potentials in the lateral hypothalamus (LHA), the feeding center, and had almost no influence on weight reduction induced by LHA lesion.