How electric acupuncture zaps inflammation in mice

Thompson, Benjamin; Bundell, Shamini

doi:10.1038/d41586-021-02806-x

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese therapy with a history of over 3,000 years, has been increasingly used as an integrative or complementary therapy worldwide (35). As a low-cost, well-tolerated therapy with few and minor adverse effects, acupuncture has a certain regulatory influence on systemic inflammation (36)(37)(38). The anti-inflammatory impact of acupuncture is mediated through the activation of the immune response at acupoints (39), and evidence indicates expressions of NF-κB are downregulated and miR-146a is upregulated after acupuncture treatment (40,41).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of acupuncture on the miR-146a-mediated IRAK1/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway in rats with sarcopenia induced by D-galactose

Jin¹,

Yang²,

Liu³

et al. 2023

Ann Transl Med

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Background Sarcopenia during aging is closely linked to sterile, low-grade, chronic inflammation. However, considering the increasingly aging global population, the effectiveness of existing treatments for sarcopenia is not exact, and acupuncture, as an effective anti-inflammatory therapy, has the potential to treat it. Methods Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into five groups, including Control group, D-galactose (D-gal) group, D-gal + acupuncture (DA) group, D-gal + non-acupoint (DN) group and D-gal amino acid mixture (DAA) group. An aging rat was model constructed using D-gal for 12 weeks. Rats in the control group received 0.9% physiological saline daily. Treatment groups were acupunctured or given amino acid mixture interventions daily, and lasted for last 4 consecutive weeks. The effects of acupuncture were evaluated by the hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E), transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of acupuncture was studied by using the expressions of microRNA-146a (miR-146a) mediated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway-related proteins were detected by immunofluorescence, western blotting, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Rats injected by D-galactose (D-gal) revealed apparent skeletal muscle atrophy with significantly reduced cross-sectional area and fiber diameter. In contrast, acupuncture treatment alleviated these hallmarks of skeletal muscle atrophy and mitigated the mitochondrial aberrations and skeletal muscle apoptosis in D-gal rats. In addition, acupuncture also downgraded the overexpression of inflammatory factors in skeletal muscle, influenced miR-146a and the target genes level, and inhibited NF-κB nuclear translation in D-gal rats. Conclusions Acupuncture may ameliorate skeletal muscle atrophy, and its effects may be associated with the control of mitochondrial function regulation and the suppression of inflammation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of acupuncture on the miR-146a-mediated IRAK1/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway in rats with sarcopenia induced by D-galactose

Jin¹,

Yang²,

Liu³

et al. 2023

Ann Transl Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In TCM, acupuncture plays a very important role and has unique advantages and signi cant clinical values. Its e cacy has been con rmed by many studies [1,2]. Recently, thanks to its painless and noninvasive nature, laser acupuncture has become an alternative to traditional acupuncture and many studies have shown its e ectiveness [3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Initial Study on Automated Acupoint Positioning for Laser Acupuncture

Lan

Lee

et al. 2022

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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Acupuncture plays an important role in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is one kind of an inexpensive and effective treatment. However, some people might be reluctant to receive acupuncture treatment due to fear of pain. Laser acupuncture, thanks to its painless and infection-free advantages, has recently become an alternative choice to traditional acupuncture. The accuracy of acupuncture point positioning has a decisive influence on the quality of laser acupuncture. In this study, built on top of our prior work, we proposed a low-cost automated acupoint positioning system for laser acupuncture. By integrating several machine learning algorithms and computer vision techniques, we design and implement a robot-assisted laser acupuncture system on top of a smartphone. Our contributions include the following: (a) development of an effective acupoint estimation algorithm with a localization error less than 5 mm; (b) implementation of a smartphone-controlled automated laser acupuncture system with lift-thrust function, as a point-of-care device, that can be used by patients to relieve their symptoms at home.

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Acupuncture for premature ejaculation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

et al. 2023

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Background Although acupuncture is widely used to treat premature ejaculation (PE), its effectiveness remains highly controversial. Aim To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on PE. Methods According to the relevant keywords, 11 major English and Chinese databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture alone or in combination with other treatments for PE. The quality of evidence across studies was assessed by the GRADEpro tool. Outcomes Study outcome measures included the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT), the Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation–5 (CIPE-5), treatment success rate, and adverse events. Results Seven trials were included in this review for a total of 603 participants. A low quality of evidence suggests that it is not possible to determine whether acupuncture, as compared with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, has an advantage in improving the IELT (standardized mean difference [SMD], −1.75; 95% CI, −6.12 to 2.63; P = .43, I2 = 98%), PEDT scores (SMD, 0.32; 95% CI, −0.68 to 1.32; P = .53, I2 = 85%), and treatment success rate (risk ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.41-1.14; P = .15). However, participants receiving acupuncture had a lower CIPE-5 (SMD, −1.06; 95% CI, −1.68 to −0.44; P < .01). As compared with sham acupuncture, acupuncture significantly improved the IELT (SMD, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.01-1.92; P < .01, I2 = 0%) and PEDT scores (SMD, −1.23; 95% CI, −1.78 to −0.67; P < .01, I2 = 37%). When compared with other treatments alone, a combined treatment with acupuncture can significantly improve the IELT (SMD, 7.06; 95% CI, 2.53-11.59; P < .01, I2 = 97%), CIPE-5 (SMD, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.45-1.22; P < .01, I2 = 0%), and treatment success rate (SMD, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.18-2.16; P < .01, I2 = 53). Clinical Implications The results suggest a significant effect of acupuncture in the treatment of certain important indicators of PE; however, this finding needs to be treated with caution because of the quality of the RCTs included. Strengths and Limitations Comprehensive inclusion of available RCTs has been performed. However, limitations include a low number of studies and a lack of detailed information to allow subgroup analysis. Conclusion The present systematic review and meta-analysis show that acupuncture has a significant effect on several subjective PE parameters, such as improving the feeling of control over ejaculation and distress, particularly when used in an integrated way. However, due to the low quality of evidence, acupuncture still needs larger well-designed RCTs to be confirmed.

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How electric acupuncture zaps inflammation in mice

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Effects of acupuncture on the miR-146a-mediated IRAK1/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway in rats with sarcopenia induced by D-galactose

Effects of acupuncture on the miR-146a-mediated IRAK1/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway in rats with sarcopenia induced by D-galactose

An Initial Study on Automated Acupoint Positioning for Laser Acupuncture

Acupuncture for premature ejaculation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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