Acupoint catgut embedding for the treatment of obesity in adults

Wu, Xianming; Mo, Qian; He, Ting; Na, Zhi; Huang, Yu; Yang, Shuo

doi:10.1097/md.0000000000014610

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The ability to conserve time and costs makes AcE an attractive treatment method. Although side effects such as local inflammation, pain, callosity, and discomfort may occur for several days following treatment, this method has been widely used for the management of obesity (22). Zusanli (ST36) is most commonly used for the treatment of pain, lower limb issues and gastrointestinal disorders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for acupoint catgut embedding treatment and TRPV1 gene deletion increasing weight control in murine model

2020

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Obesity is a global health problem affecting the general population. Acupoint catgut embedding (AcE) is an alternative treatment that involves the implantation of absorbable catgut suture at acupoints. The transient receptor vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1) is a calcium ion channel that responds to several chemical ligands and is identified in numerous locations throughout the body. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of AcE treatment on obesity and its associated complications through various neural mechanisms in a murine model. A c57/BL6 wild type (WT) and TRPV1-/-(KO) mouse model was utilized to exclude any psychological factors associated with obesity. The WT-HFd-AcE and WT-HFd-SHAM groups received weekly AcE or placebo treatments at the bilateral ST36 acupoint. The mice were fed with a normal mice chow diet (Nd) or a high-fat food diet (HFd; 45 kcal%), and their body weights were recorded once a week. After 8 weeks, the subjects were sacrificed and changes in the levels of a number of biomarkers were investigated using ELISA, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence. The results indicated a significant decrease in body weight variation for the WT-HFd-AcE group compared with the WT-HFd and WT-HFd-SHAM groups, using the WT-Nd group as the body weight baseline. By contrast, KO mice fed with Nd or HFd demonstrated notable body weight maintenance throughout the experimental period. Similar patterns were observed in adipose tissue mass, glucose, leptin and insulin plasma levels, and protein molecule density of TRPV1 and its associated molecules in the hypothalamus and nucleus tractus solitarii. In contrast, in the prefrontal cortex, significant decreases in the concentrations of MAPK pathway proteins in the WT-HFd and WT-HFd-SHAM groups were observed. The levels of these proteins were significantly increased in the WT-HFd-AcE and KO-HFd groups. These results suggested that TRPV1 and its associated pathways may be involved in body weight maintenance, and may be controlled through AcE treatment or genetic manipulation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for acupoint catgut embedding treatment and TRPV1 gene deletion increasing weight control in murine model

2020

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“…To reach a satisfying outcome, this procedure needs to be repeated every 3 to 4 weeks at least for 2 months. [8] Although AEM has been originated and developed in China, by attending other countries such as South Korea, Mexico, and Indonesia it was expected to develop different methods and indications; however, our literature review showed no significant difference between method of performing AEM in different countries. [9–12] Generally, 3 types of embedding threads are available: natural threads including collagen or chitosan threads, synthetic polymer threads including polylactic acid-glycolic acid or polydioxanone threads, and bioactive threads including antimicrobial, silver nanoparticle, or sustained-release threads.…”

Section: Methods and Thread Typesmentioning

confidence: 88%

A comprehensive practical review of acupoint embedding as a semi-permanent acupuncture: A mini review

Kazemi,

Adel-Mehraban,

Jamali Dastjerdi

et al. 2024

Medicine

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Since ancient times, acupuncture has been utilized in the treatment of lots of diseases, as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupoint embedding (AEM) therapy, known as catgut embedding, is a development of acupuncture that consists of inserting catgut or surgical threads into specific acupoints to produce continuous acupoint stimulation based on the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The remaining thread in the acupoint works as a semi-permanent acupuncture needle that results in decreasing the total time of the treatment which is required for continuous manual acupuncture sessions and increasing the treatment efficacy and patients’ satisfaction. In each session of AEM about twenty 1 to 2 cm-long threads—natural origin, synthetic polymer, or bioactive threads—will be inserted at the target acupoints and this process will be repeated every 3 to 4 weeks. Indications of AEM are somehow similar to manual acupuncture including obesity, pain, musculoskeletal inflammations, infertility, etc, and it cannot be performed on pregnant women and pediatrics. AEM demonstrates its therapeutic effects via modulating immune system function, alleviating body inflammatory conditions, affecting the neurohormonal system, and other mechanisms. Subcutaneous indurations, redness, bleeding, hematoma, and bruising are some adverse events reported following the AEM. In conclusion, the scientific literature suggests that AEM is a relatively safe and convenient therapy if performed by a professional skilled practitioner.

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“…Researches have indicated that ACE can effectively treat simple obesity by regulating the neuroendocrine system, intestinal flora, and leptin level. [ 43 , 44 ] Acupuncture combined with ACE offers advantages over standard acupuncture, including prolonged effects, enhanced patient compliance, and more robust long-term effects. [ 45 ] Previous studies have demonstrated the synergistic effect of acupuncture combined with ACE in the treatment of simple obesity, resulting in superior curative effect compared with acupuncture alone or ACE alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of acupuncture combined with acupoint catgut embedding on simple obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Gao

Zhou

et al. 2023

Medicine

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Background: Obesity is a widespread chronic metabolic disease that significantly impairs quality of life. Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of both acupuncture and acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) in the management of obesity. However, the superiority of acupuncture combined with ACE over acupuncture alone remains a subject of controversy. This study aims to elucidate this controversy and provide robust clinical evidence. Methods: A comprehensive search of relevant literature from the initiation to July 2022 was carried out in 8 databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane database, Web of Science, CBM Database, CNKI, Wan-fang Database, and VIP Database). We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the treatment of simple obesity using acupuncture paired with ACE, with acupuncture alone as the control group. The pooled outcomes included body mass index (BMI), body weight (BW), %BF, waist circumference (WC), hip circumferences (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), therapeutic effective rate (TER), and adverse events. Two independent reviewers performed screening (using EndNote X9) and quality assessment (using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool) for the included studies. with the software RevMan 5.3 was used to perform pooling of effect sizes. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Results: A total of 20 trials involving 15 datasets (1616 participants) were included. The findings demonstrated significant improvements in outcome measures when acupuncture was combined with ACE, compared with acupuncture alone (BMI: MD = −1.49 kg/m2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −1.93 to −1.04, P < .01; BW: MD = −2.38, 95% CI = −3.86 to −0.89, P < .01; %BF: MD = −2.19, 95% CI = −3.23 to −1.15, P < .01; WC: MD = −2.01, 95% CI = −3.66 to −0.35, P < .05; HC: MD = −0.83, 95% CI = −1.64 to −0.02, P < .05; WHR: MD = −0.02, 95% CI = −0.03 to −0.01, P < .01; TER: OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.93–3.74, P < .01). Adverse effects were reported in 4 studies. Conclusion subsections: The results of this meta-analysis indicate that acupuncture combined with ACE is superior to acupuncture alone in the treatment of obesity, which is supported by the subgroup analysis. The assessment of efficacy may have been influenced by variations in study quality, potentially amplifying the observed effects. RCTs with larger sample sizes and improved methodological quality are needed to enhance the validity of the findings.

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Acupoint catgut embedding for the treatment of obesity in adults

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

Evidence for acupoint catgut embedding treatment and TRPV1 gene deletion increasing weight control in murine model

Evidence for acupoint catgut embedding treatment and TRPV1 gene deletion increasing weight control in murine model

A comprehensive practical review of acupoint embedding as a semi-permanent acupuncture: A mini review

The impact of acupuncture combined with acupoint catgut embedding on simple obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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