Tai Chi Qigong training appears to have beneficial effects in terms of the quality of life and physical functioning of elderly subjects with knee osteoarthritis. However, more rigorous trials are needed to confirm the efficacy of this training for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Acupuncture is frequently used as an alternative therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD), and it attenuates dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra (SN) in PD animal models. Using proteomic analysis, we investigated whether acupuncture alters protein expression in the SN to favor attenuation of neuronal degeneration. In C57BL/6 mice treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, 30 mg/kg/day), intraperitoneal (i.p.) for 5 days, 2 or 100 Hz electroacupuncture (EA) was applied at the effective and specific acupoint, GB34, once a day for 12 consecutive days from the first MPTP treatment. Both treatments in MPTP mice led to restoration of behavioral impairment and rescued tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive DA neurodegeneration. Using peptide fingerprinting MS, we identified changes in 22 proteins in the SN following MPTP treatment, and nine of these proteins were normalized by EA. They were involved in cell death regulation, inflammation, or restoration from damage. The levels of cyclophilin A (CypA), which is a neuroprotective agent, were unchanged by MPTP treatment but were increased in MPTP-EA mice. These results suggest that acupoint GB34-specific EA changes protein expression profiles in the SN in favor of DA neuronal survival in MPTP-treated mice, and that EA treatment may be an effective therapy for PD patients.

We found that bee venom acupuncture effectively protected dopaminergic neurons against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine toxicity, possibly through inhibition of Jun activation. Our results suggest that bee venom acupuncture could be a potential preventive agent for Parkinson's disease.

Using a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) Parkinson's disease mouse model, we investigated protein expression changes associated with the action of electroacupuncture (EA) in the mouse striatum. Twelve-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were injected intraperitoneally with 30 mg/kg of MPTP at 24-h intervals for 5 days, and the 100-Hz EA stimulation was performed at GB34 and GB39 once a day for 12 days consecutively from the first injection. With the EA, the MPTP-induced dopaminergic neuronal destruction was reduced. Of the 13 proteins that were differentially expressed between control and MPTP treated mice, cytosolic malate dehydrogenase, munc18-1, and hydroxyacylglutathione hydrolase, which were increased by MPTP, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit Vb, which was decreased by MPTP, were restored to the level of the saline group after EA treatment. These proteins are likely related to cellular metabolism. Altogether, we propose that the EA may exert neuroprotective effects in mice striatum through reducing MPTP-induced toxicity such as oxidative stress.

It has been reported that acupuncture treatment reduced dopaminergic neuron degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD) models. However, the mechanistic pathways underlying, such neuroprotection, are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects and the underlying mechanism of acupuncture in a mouse model of PD using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). First, we observed that MPTP-induced impairment of Akt activation, but not MPTP-induced c-Jun activation, was effectively restored by acupuncture treatment in the substantia nigra. Furthermore, we demonstrated for the first time that the brain-specific blockade of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway, by intranasal administration of LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, significantly blocked acupuncture-induced dopaminergic neuron protection and motor function improvement. Our results provide evidence that PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may play a central role in the mechanism underlying acupuncture-induced benefits in Parkinsonian mice.

A possible application of acupuncture in alleviating depression-like behavioral changes and regulating serotonin signaling in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of maternally-separated rat pups was investigated in this study. On postnatal day 15, rat pups were maternally-separated and received acupuncture stimulation at acupoint HT7 or ST36 once a day for 7 days. On postnatal day 21, the tail suspension test was performed and the PFC was harvested. Tissue levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) were then measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and expression of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were assessed by western blotting. Levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA were not significantly changed, but the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio was significantly increased by maternal separation. The immobility time of maternally-separated rat pups was increased, and increased 5-HTT expression and reduced BDNF level were observed in the PFC. But acupuncture stimulation at HT7 alleviated the behavioral change and regulated the changes of 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio, 5-HTT, and BDNF. In conclusion, acupuncture stimulation at HT7 can relieve maternal separation-induced changes, and we propose that regulation of the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio and of 5-HTT expression by acupuncture stimulation are important acupuncture-induced benefits in this animal model of depression.

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