RETRACTED: Moxibustion Modulates Sympathoexcitatory Cardiovascular Reflex Responses Through Paraventricular Nucleus

Abstract

Electroacupuncture (EA) point specific (ST36-37) stimulation decreases cardiovascular reflex responses through supraspinal regions such as the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) while mechanical stimulation of acupoints decreases pressor responses through peripheral thermal transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 (TRPV1). Moxibustion generating heat applied at acupoint in combination with antihypertensive drugs decreases elevated blood pressure. We hypothesized that moxibustion modulates sympathoexcitatory cardiovascular responses through the hypothalamic PVN and peripheral heat sensitive TRPV1 in the absence of antihypertensive drugs. Rats were anesthetized, ventilated, and heart rate and mean blood pressure were monitored. Gastric distention induced consistent pressor reflex responses every 10-min. Thirty-minutes of bilateral moxibustion at the acupoint ST36, overlying the deep peroneal nerves, reduced the gastric distention evoked elevation in blood pressure. Blood pressure reflex responses were not reduced by both EA and moxibustion at G39. The moxibustion inhibition but not EA inhibition of the cardiovascular responses was reversed with blockade of local heat sensitive TRPV1 at ST36. Accordingly, activation of thermal TRPV1 by moxibustion at an average of 44.2°C in contrast to 40°C reduced the pressor responses. Naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist, microinjected into PVN inhibited transiently the effect of moxibustion. Thus, activation of peripheral heat sensitive TRPV1 mediated the moxibustion-inhibition, but not EA-inhibition, of sympathoexcitatory cardiovascular reflex responses through hypothalamic PVN opioid system.

Moxibustion for Primary Dysmenorrhea: An Adjuvant Therapy for Pain Relief

“…TRPV2 can be activated by moxibustion temperature above 52°C to promote the production of active substances, such as growth factors and inflammatory regulatory factors, to produce subsequent effects [ 89 ]. When the moxibustion temperature exceeds 45°C, noxious stimulation will occur, and the harmful sensor of C fiber is activated, resulting in local thermal pain, burning pain, and other sensations and inducing a local burning reaction [ 90 , 91 ]. At this time, the activation of dorsal reticular nucleus neurons in the medulla oblongata related to analgesia was suddenly strengthened, and the analgesic effect of thermal moxibustion was exerted [ 87 ].…”

Meta-analysis comparing the effect of combined acupuncture plus statin therapy versus statin therapy alone on lipid levels of patients with angina pectoris of coronary heart disease

“…Acupuncture, a non-pharmacological intervention founded in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has proven to protect the cardiovascular system by regulating vascular tension, 35 improving myocardial damage, 36 reversing endothelial dysfunction, 37 and regulating lipid metabolism. 20 As an adjuvant therapy, acupuncture has been applied to treat CHD for many years.…”

A central amygdala input to the dorsal vagal complex controls gastric motility in mice under restraint stress

“…Professor Qiufu Ma has proposed that acupuncture effects can be realized through somatosensory-autonomic reflexes, and they found that EA stimulation at ST36 activated the Phox2a projection neurons within the spinal dorsal horn, and the neurons densely project to the NTS ( Ma, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2021b ). Furthermore, studies have highlighted acupuncture alter specific brain regions such as cardiovascular regulation-related paraventricular nucleus (PVN) ( Cheng et al, 2018 ), psychomotor response-related CeA ( Kim et al, 2021 ), and drug dependence-related cuneate nucleus ( Chang et al, 2019 ) and so on, which suggest that acupuncture-evoked brain response. Acupuncture stimulation at different acupoints has been reported to drive different autonomic pathways associated with gastrointestinal-motility control ( Li et al, 2007 ).…”