Effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation at different frequencies on mild hypertension: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may contribute to blood pressure (BP) control, but the evidence remains insufficient. Our objectives were to evaluate the impact of TEAS on hypertension and determine the optimal frequency.

Methods: A total of 120 hypertensive patients were randomly allocated to the TEAS-2Hz group, TEAS-10Hz group, or usual care control group in a 1:1:1 ratio.

Prospect of value and application of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation to control blood pressure in proactive healthcare perspective.

Hypertension is a global problem threatening human health and life. Although there are many antihypertensive drugs, the low compliance of medication affects its efficacy, and the effect in regulating hypertension has become increasingly prominent. Focusing on the new trend of proactive healthcare management, in the present paper, we made a summary about the status and existing problems of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) in the regulation of blood pressure, and put forward some suggestions, such as selecting acupoints based on classical acupuncture theory to highlight the advantages of TEAS to control blood pressure as a whole, optimizing and screening the parameters of TEAS in the regulation of blood pressure, expanding the research observation indexes etc.

Effects of acupoints-based TENS combined with tDCS on spasticity and motor function in ischemic stroke with spastic hemiplegia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Spastic hemiplegia following ischemic strokes seriously impedes the recovery of motor function posing a vast rehabilitation challenge. As the uncertain effects of recommended conventional treatments such as botulinum toxin injections on active functional improvement and potential adverse effects cannot be bypassed, there is an increasing need in alternative, more effective and safer modalities. Acupoints-based transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (Acu-TENS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are effective non-invasive modalities for stroke rehabilitation, particularly showing anti-spastic effect and functional improvements as well.

Electrophysiological mechanisms of motion-style scalp acupuncture for treating poststroke spasticity in rats.

Objectives: To observe the effect of motion-style scalp acupuncture (MSSA) on H-reflex in rats with post-stroke spasticity (PSS), so as to explore the electrophysiological mechanisms of MSSA against spasticity.

Methods: A total of 36 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation, model and MSSA groups, with 12 rats in each group. The stroke model was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery.

Biofeedback physical regulation of hypertension based on acupoints: A clinical trial.

Background: Hypertension is a predominant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and has imposed a global disease burden. Poor medication compliance is the major obstacle to antihypertensive drug therapy, and negative mood status is also detrimental to blood pressure (BP) management. While transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS), as an electrical stimulation modality for biofeedback physical regulation based on acupoints, offers a such nondrug alternative option that is noninvasive, safe, and effective with high adherence.

New insights into acupuncture techniques for poststroke spasticity.

With the trend of aging population getting more obvious, stroke has already been a major public health problem worldwide. As a main disabling motor impairment after stroke, spasticity has unexpected negative impacts on the quality of life and social participation in patients. Moreover, it brings heavy economic burden to the family and society.

The factors affecting neurogenesis after stroke and the role of acupuncture.

Stroke induces a state of neuroplasticity in the central nervous system, which can lead to neurogenesis phenomena such as axonal growth and synapse formation, thus affecting stroke outcomes. The brain has a limited ability to repair ischemic damage and requires a favorable microenvironment. Acupuncture is considered a feasible and effective neural regulation strategy to improve functional recovery following stroke the benign modulation of neuroplasticity.

[Setting and optimization of control group in acupuncture animal experiment based on research elements].

Acupuncture animal experiment is the main form of acupuncture mechanism research, in which, the setting of control group is crucial to the scientificity and reliability of research conclusion, and the research elements are the fundamental. Focusing on the research elements involved in acupuncture animal experiment, this study summarized the current situation and characteristics of the control groups related to acupoint selection, intervention and pathological mechanism in acupuncture animal experiment, and put forward the questions and suggestions so that the references of setting control group can be provided for acupuncture animal experiment in future.

[Research progress and reflection on mechanisms of acupuncture against primary dysmenorrhea].

Research articles on the mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of dysmenorrhea model in rats were retrieved from PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). As revealed by the analysis, the underlying mechanisms were mainly related to the regulation of endocrine system and neurotransmitters, the modulation of immunoinflammatory responses, the improvement of uterine microcirculation, and reduction of oxidative stress. In the future, research should be carried out to explore the mechanism of acupuncture in relieving dysmenorrhea via acupoints and the specific mechanism of classical acupoints, so as to enrich the multi-pathway mechanisms of acupuncture in treating dysmenorrhea and provide more scientific basis for optimizing clinical modalities for primary dysmenorrhea treatment by acupuncture.

[Practical value and thought on "co-regulation of body and mind" in treatment of post-stroke spasticity with acupuncture].

This paper reviews the application of "co-regulation of body and mind" of acupuncture for post-stroke spasticity. It is found that acupoints on the head and the back of the governor vessel, as well as Jiaji (Ex-B 2) points are mainly used for regulating the mind, and the local sites of spastic muscles and the points on the antagonistic muscles are for regulating the body specially. It is believed that regulating the mind should be integrated with regulating the body, while, the acupoint selection be associated with needling methods so as to fully achieve the "co-regulation of body and mind" and enhance the practical value of acupuncture for post-stroke spasticity.

Acupuncture improves the structure of spastic muscle and decreases spasticity by enhancing GABA, KCC2, and GABAAγ2 in the brainstem in rats after ischemic stroke.

Background: Increasing data show that structural changes of spastic muscle and hyperexcitability of reticulospinal tract (RST) are involved in the pathogenesis of spasticity after stroke (SAS). Our previous study has indicated that the anti-spastic effect of acupuncture, especially waggle needling (WN, a multiple directional needling method with joint movement), on SAS rats was related to the KCC2-GABAA pathway in cerebral cortex. Furthermore, as a peripheral stimulation to treat upper motor neuron injury-related spasticity, acupuncture's effect on peripheral spastic muscles and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brainstem, the origin of the RST, should be further clarified.

Acupuncture alleviates spinal hyperreflexia and motor dysfunction in post-ischemic stroke rats with spastic hypertonia via KCC2-mediated spinal GABA activation.

The majority of patients simultaneously develop motor dysfunction and spastic hypertonia after ischemic strokes, which can be associated with an increasing trend in motor impairments, seriously impeding the rehabilitation process. Evidence suggests that some deficits in the KCC2 expression in the spinal cord along with maladaptive endogenous plasticity via GABA receptors are often involved in the pathology of spastic hypertonia after a stroke. In this respect, acupuncture has been commonly used in clinical settings for post-stroke patients' rehabilitation.

Acupuncture Alleviates Menstrual Pain in Rat Model via Suppressing Eotaxin/CCR3 Axis to Weak EOS-MC Activation.

Introduction: Emerging data show that chemokine-mediated inflammation is involved in the occurrence and maintenance of pain. Recent evidence suggests that eotaxin levels rise when dysmenorrhea happens. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether eotaxin/CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) axis, a key regulatory pathway for eosinophils (EOS) recruitment, is involved in acupuncture analgesia for dysmenorrhea.

Acupuncture for Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Potential Mechanism from an Anti-Inflammatory Perspective.

The low adverse effects of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea (PD), known as one of the most commonly reported gynecological debilitating conditions affecting women's overall health, have been thus far confirmed. Moreover, it has been increasingly recognized that inflammation is involved in such menstrual cramps, and recent studies have further shown that the anti-inflammatory effects of acupuncture are helpful in its control. This review portrays the role of inflammation in PD pathophysiology, provides evidence from clinical and animal studies on acupuncture for inflammation-induced visceral pain, and reflects on acupuncture-related therapies for dysmenorrhea with regard to their anti-inflammatory characteristics.

[A new idea for developing closed-loop feedback electrical acupoint stimulation devices based on classic acupuncture theory].

As one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment apparatus, the electric acu-point stimulation (such as electroacupuncture, transcutaneous acupoint electric stimulation, etc.) device plays an important role in improving the efficacy of acupuncture therapy and expanding its indications. The imbalance of human functional state has become an important factor affecting the health condition and quality of life.

Anti-spastic effect induced by waggle needling correlates with KCC2-GABA pathway in post-stroke spasticity rats.

Although clinical efficacy of waggle needling has been confirmed, therapeutic mechanisms still remain poorly understood. Reduction of GABA was involved in the etiology of spasticity. Recently, accumulated evidences suggest that the inhibitory effect of GABA is determined by low intracellular chloride concentration, which is predominantly mediated by KCC2.

[Perpendicular and transverse needling of "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) relieves abdominal pain by regulating arginine vasopressin and its receptor expression levels in uterus and hypothalamus in cold-stasis type dysmenorrhea rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of perpendicular and subcutaneous transverse needling at "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) on visceral pain behavior, arginine vasopressin (AVP) content in the serum, uterine tissues, spinal cord and hypothalamus and expression of AVP receptors AVPR1A and AVPR1B in the uterine tissues, spinal cord and hypothalamus in cold-stasis (stasis due to pathogenic cold) type dysmenorrhea rats, so as to explore their mechanisms underlying pain relief.

Methods: Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into blank control, model, perpendicular needling and transverse needling groups, with 10 rats in each group. The cold-stasis dysmenorrhea rat model was established by exposure in a freezer (-25 ℃) for 4 h, once daily for 5 days, and subcutaneous injection of estradiol benzoate (once daily for 10 days) and intra-abdominal injection of oxytocin injection (once).

Waggle needling wields preferable neuroprotective and anti-spastic effects on post-stroke spasticity rats by attenuating γ-aminobutyric acid transaminase and enhancing γ-aminobutyric acid.

Waggle needling, a classical anti-spastic needling technique characterized by combination of acupuncture with joint movement, has gained increasing popularity of spasticity treatment in China. This study was designed to compare the anti-spastic effect of waggle needling to the routine needling and to explore its underlying mechanism. We established post-stroke spasticity model based on ischemia stroke operation (middle cerebral artery occlusion).

Comparison of the immediate analgesic effect of perpendicular needling and transverse needling at SP6 in patients with primary dysmenorrhea: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Acupuncture has been widely used to treat primary dysmenorrhea (PD) with satisfactory outcomes. Sanyinjiao (SP6) is the most commonly used acupoint for PD. Different needling techniques may influence the effect of SP6, and its underlying mechanism needs to be explored.

[Analysis of the significance of kinetic needling in the treatment of spasm].

The filiform needling technique is an important factor affecting the acupoint effect, and it is the key to option the needling technique corresponding to the disease so that the clinical curative effect can be improved. This paper systematically reviews the application of kinetic needling in the treatment of spasm, in order to provide some theoretical basis for the optimal acupuncture regimen of spasm. By summarizing and analyzing the similarities and differences of acupoint selection principle, needling characteristics, stimulation range, stimulation amount and indications in the treatment of spasm, it is found that kinetic needling emphasizes the effective combination of acupuncture and kinesis, which is an effective mean of treating spasm.

Immediate Analgesic Effect of Perpendicular Needling or Transverse Needling at SP 6 in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Pilot Study.

Needling technique is an important factor contributing to the efficacy of an acupuncture point. In previous studies, (SP 6) had an immediate analgesic effect on primary dysmenorrhea (PD) with strengthened acupuncture stimulation. Transverse needling without De Qi is accepted more easily by patients who dislike De Qi.