Effects of Moxibustion on Blood Pressure and Renal Function in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of moxibustion at the meridian points BL-15 (Xin-shu) and BL-27 (Xiao-chang-shu) on renal function, systolic blood pressure, plasma levels of renin activity, aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The results showed that urine volume increased significantly after moxibustion at the meridian points BL-15, but decreased at BL-27. Urinary excretion of Na+ decreased after moxibustion at the meridian points BL-15 and BL-27. Systolic blood pressure decreased after moxibustion at the meridian point BL-15. No effect was observed at BL-27. Plasma levels of aldosterone and renin activity increased significantly, but the levels of atrial natriuretic peptide decreased significantly after moxibustion at BL-15. Plasma levels of aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide increased significantly after moxibustion at the meridian points BL-27. These results suggest that the meridian points BL-15 and BL-27 are related to the regulation of renal function and the secretion of hormone with body fluid metabolism.

Electroacupuncture and Moxibustion Attenuate the Progression of Renal Disease in 5/6 Nephrectomized Rats

“…There have been some clinical and experimental studies reporting beneficial effects of acupuncture and MO on arterial hypertension [25,28,30,35] and the inflammatory process [15] . Therefore, we undertook this work to address the effects of the combination of EA stimulation applied to the Zusanli (ST-36) and Taixi (KI-3) acupoints, and MO at the Shenshu dorsal acupoint (BL-23) on the progression of renal disease in a model of progressive disease in rats.…”

“…Ma [24] and Holub [42] reported that EA positively influenced the maintenance of the capacity of urinary concentration. Lee et al [25] investigated the effects of MO at BL-15 and BL-27 (bladder) acupoints and demonstrated that those acupoints could modulate water homeostasis by interfering with secretion of hormones such as renin, aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide. In addition, these authors found that SBP decreased after MO at the meridian point BL-15.…”

“…The choice of these acupoints was based on their reported abilities to produce hypotensive responses as well as to participate in the central regulation of renal and cardiovascular responses [16,18,22,25,29] . Zusanli (ST-36) point also promotes analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.…”

“…EA is an electrical stimulation through the acupuncture needles with short current pulse at different frequencies [11] . Both EA [10,[21][22][23][24] and MO [25] have been shown to influence renal function, although little is currently understood about their role [26] .…”

Electroacupuncture and Moxibustion Decrease Renal Sympathetic Nerve Activity and Retard Progression of Renal Disease in Rats

“…Traditionally, hypertension in CKD was viewed as largely volume-dependent, but now there is increasing evidence that the activation of the SNS often accompanies CKD and, therefore, could contribute to elevation of arterial pressure, including its influence on fluid retention. The beneficial effect of EA-MO on blood pressure has been confirmed by several clinical and experimental studies described in the literature [7,35,36,37,38,39,40,41]. …”