Effects of moxibustion to zusanli (ST36) on alteration of natural killer cell activity in rats.

Moxibustion is one of the major healing techniques in Oriental medicine. It has been widely used in many diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto disease, breech presentation, etc. However, till now, effects of moxibustion on natural killer (NK) cell activity and relations between sympathetic nerve system (SNS) and the immune alteration induced by moxibustion were not well studied.

Enhancement of electroacupuncture-induced analgesic effect in cholecystokinin-A receptor deficient rats.

Previously, we have showed that the cholecystokinin (CCK)-A receptor expression in hypothalamus is closely related with the responsiveness of electroacupuncture (EA)-mediated analgesic effects in rats. In order to confirm this observation more directly in vivo, the EA-mediated analgesic effects are compared between Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, the natural knockout rats with the homozygously disrupted CCK-A receptor gene, with Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats. They were stimulated at the zusanli (ST36) acupoint without using anesthetics or holders.