Effectiveness of deep electroacupuncture with strong deqi and shallow electroacupuncture with no deqi for lumbar disk herniation: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Lumbar disk herniation (LDH) is a common cause of low back pain and dysfunction. Studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) can achieve pain relief in patients with LDH. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of deep EA with strong deqi and shallow EA with no deqi in patients with LDH.

The effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a common disease that seriously affects patients' quality of life. Although several articles have reported that acupuncture can improve the symptoms of LDH, different guidelines do not evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture consistently, new randomized controlled trials have been published in recent years.The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for LDH.

Early cartilage degeneration in a rat experimental model of developmental dysplasia of the hip.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common long-term complication of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) that is associated with a higher incidence of OA. In addition, the age of onset of OA in DDH patients is significantly younger than in the general population. In order to investigate the early degeneration in DDH cartilage, we used a rat DDH model that was established by the straight-leg swaddling position.

Dual function of β-catenin in articular cartilage growth and degeneration at different stages of postnatal cartilage development.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the role of β-catenin in normal postnatal articular cartilage growth and degeneration.

Methods: We investigated β-catenin gene and protein expression in hip cartilage cells of normal Wistar rats at two, four, six and eight weeks of age by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Primary articular chondrocytes from eight week old rats were cultured and treated with LiCl for activation of β-catenin.