Acupuncture Improves Sleep Conditions of Minipigs Representing Diurnal Animals through an Anatomically Similar Point to the Acupoint (GV20) Effective for Humans

Abstract

Acupuncture, an alternative medicine, has been widely applied for people with sleep disturbances; therefore, the effects should be evaluated objectively. Micro-minipigs (MMPigs), the smallest miniature pigs for animal experiments, were used. Acupuncture was performed at two different points: Dafengmen is located on the head and is an anatomically similar point to human-Baihui (GV20), an effective acupoint for sleep disturbances in humans; pig-Baihui is on the back. The procedure was performed as follows: shallow, within 5 mm depth for several seconds; deep, 10–20 mm depth for 20 min. The sleep conditions were evaluated by actigraph, and the amount of catecholamine in pooled urine after acupuncture treatment. MMPigs with deep acupuncture at Dafengmen showed significantly efficient values on actigraph and catecholamine analysis as compared with untreated MMPigs. The effective acupoint for sleep conditions in the porcine model is at an anatomically similar point to humans, rather than the point determined by traditional Chinese medicine.

Reference Values of Hematological and Biochemical Parameters for the World Smallest Microminipigs

“…Microminipig (brand name; registered with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as a novel variety of swine; Fuji Micra Inc., Shizuoka, Japan) has been emerged as a possible experimental animal model for non-clinical pharmacological/toxicological use [4,8,10]. The BW of young mature Microminipig is <10 kg, enabling easy handling [5,7,13]. The "Eve" of Microminipig (a female minipig named "Catherin") was born by the mating of Pot-bellied pig and another type of minipig [4].…”

Effects of Dietary and Lighting Conditions on Diurnal Locomotor Activity and Body Temperature in Microminipigs

“…The microminipig is registered with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as a swine that has been recently established as a closed colony. We previously reported the diurnal rhythm in LA in microminipigs (20). Microminipigs are weaned at 3 weeks of age; the reproductive system matures around 6-9 months of age (21).…”

“…LA was measured using an actigraph, which was originally developed for humans (24). Recently, the use of actigraph to measure LA has been applied to other large mammals such as pigs (20). In general, LA for minipigs has been measured by a probe placed in the body using a telemetric system (13,26).…”

Corpus luteum Regression Induced by Prostaglandin F2α in Microminipigs During the Normal Estrous Cycle

“…The utility of microminipigs as experimental animals has been demonstrated in research on atherosclerosis (6)(7)(8)(9), cardiovascular pharmacology (10)(11)(12), sleep conditions (13), coagulatory activity (2), toxicology (14,15), genomic sequencing (16) and developmental engineering (17). Because microminipigs are accordingly expected to be an important animal model for future human health research, effective and stable production of microminipigs is needed.…”

“…Because microminipigs are accordingly expected to be an important animal model for future human health research, effective and stable production of microminipigs is needed. Unlike popular mouse models, the microminipig represents a potentially more appropriate experimental model, since their lipoprotein metabolism (9,18), as well as their anatomy, physiology and feeding and sleep habits (13), are much more similar to those of humans.…”