This week's Medline Abstracts on Acupuncture

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Neuropeptides. 2007 Apr 17; [Epub ahead of print] Effect of acupuncture on

pubertal development of rats and rabbits at different developmental stages.

Zhaohui Z, Yugui C, Yuanming Z, Xuesong W, Xiaobing J, Zhice X, Guipeng

D, Qianle T, Yue J. Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, The First

Affiliated Hospital to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China;

Department of Acupuncture, The First Affiliated Hospital to Nanjing Medical

University, Nanjing 210029, China. Physiological and endocrine studies on

sexual development in animals and effects of acupuncture on sexual

development are limited. Therefore, we investigated the effect of electro-

acupuncture (EA) on the arcuate nucleus (Arc) and release of gonadotropin-

releasing hormone (GnRH) in animals at different developmental stages. In

Experiment 1, EA stimulation (30Hz) was performed for 30min per day in EA

group of rabbits for 48 days, while the control group (mature rabbits) was not

given EA. Arc discharges in those two groups were measured after the 48-

day treatment. Arc discharge was also measured in the pre-pubertal group

(as control) without EA treatment. Then, all three groups were treated with

transient EA for 30min and Arc discharges were determined again. In

Experiment 2, EA (3Hz) at the same acupoints or non-acupoints as that in

the rabbits was performed for 20min per day in different developmental

group of Sprague-Dawley rats for 10 days. GnRH mRNA expression in the

hypothalamus of rats was determined using RT-PCR and real-time PCR.

The serum sexual hormone, sperm count, and body weight was measured.

The results showed that the Arc discharge (P<0.01), testosterone (T)

(P<0.01) and sperm count (P<0.01) in male rabbits were reduced by

repeated EA. However, the body weight of rabbits was not changed after EA

compared to the control in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, GnRH mRNA

expression in rats of the early pubertal group (EPG) and adult group (AG)

were significantly depressed after repeated EA at acupoints (P<0.01). The

sexual hormones were negatively influenced by repeated EA during puberty.

Sperm count was reduced significantly after repeated EA at time of puberty

(P<0.01). Repeated EA did not influence body weight of rats (P>0.01) and

structures of the gonadial tissues during development. The results

suggested that repeated EA is a good option that can be considered for

regulating the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis

during puberty. PMID: 17445884 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Neurol Clin. 2007 May;25(2):523-37. Physical medicine and complementary

approaches. Venesy DA. Department of Physical Medicine and

Rehabilitation, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, C21, Cleveland, OH

44195, USA. Medical approaches to the treatment of spine pain are the

cornerstone of therapy for neck and back pain. Although these techniques

are used widely, seldom have they been subjected to the scrutiny of careful

randomized and controlled clinical trials. The costs of complementary

treatments, such as spinal manipulation, massage therapy, and

acupuncture, now are reimbursed by many medical insurance providers, but

these modalities lack much scientific support. Physical medicine and

complementary treatment modalities and some of the scientific studies

aimed at assessing their effectiveness are reviewed. PMID: 17445742

[PubMed - in process]

 

Magn Reson Imaging. 2007 Apr 21; [Epub ahead of print]. Improved

temporal clustering analysis method applied to whole-brain data in

acupuncture fMRI study. Lu N, Shan BC, Xu JY, Wang W, Li KC. Key

Laboratory of Nuclear Analysis Techniques, Institute of High Energy

Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Graduate

School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.

Temporal clustering analysis (TCA) has been proposed as a method for

detecting the brain responses of a functional magnetic resonance imaging

(fMRI) time series when the time and location of activation are completely

unknown. But TCA is not suitable for treating the time series of the whole

brain due to the existence of many inactive pixels. In theory, active pixels are

located only in gray matter (GM). In this study, SPM2 was used to segment

functional images into GM, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid, and only the

pixels in GM were considered. Thus, most of inactive pixels are deleted, so

that the sensitivity of TCA is greatly improved in the analysis of the whole

brain. The same set of acupuncture fMRI data was treated using both

conventional TCA and modified TCA (MTCA) for comparing their analytical

ability. The results clearly show a significant improvement in the sensitivity

achieved by MTCA. PMID: 17451902 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Lasers Surg Med. 2007 Apr 24;39(4):373-378 [Epub ahead of print]. Low-

level laser irradiation (LLLI) promotes proliferation of mesenchymal and

cardiac stem cells in culture. Tuby H, Maltz L, Oron U. Department of

Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University,

Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Low-level laser

irradiation (LLLI) was found to promote the proliferation of various types of

cells in vitro. Stem cells in general are of significance for implantation in

regenerative medicine. The aim of the present study was to investigate the

effect of LLLI on the proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and

cardiac stem cells (CSCs). STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Isolation of MSCs and CSCs was performed. The cells were cultured and

laser irradiation was applied at energy densities of 1 and 3 J/cm(2).

RESULTS: The number of MSCs and CSCs up to 2 and 4 weeks

respectively, post-LLLI demonstrated a significant increase in the laser-

treated cultures as compared to the control. CONCLUSION: The present

study clearly demonstrates the ability of LLLI to promote proliferation of

MSCs and CSCs in vitro. These results may have an important impact on

regenerative medicine. Lasers Surg. Med. 39: 373-378, 2007. © 2007

Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID: 17457844 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

J Korean Med Sci. 2007 Apr;22(2):347-51. The effect of 2 Hz and 100 Hz

electrical stimulation of acupoint on ankle sprain in rats. Hahm TS.

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical

Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

tshahm. The electrical stimulation of acupoint (ESA)

releases several endogenous neuropeptides, which play important roles in

management of pain and inflammation. ESA with low and high frequencies

has been shown to release different neuropepides, suggesting its various

therapeutic effects. Pain and edema are major problems for ankle sprain.

However, there have been few reports on the effects of ESA for ankle

sprain. We aimed to investigate that ESA can reduce pain and edema

resulting from ankle sprain, and whether there is a difference in therapeutic

effects between low and high frequency ESA. To induce ankle sprain in

Sprague-Dawley rats, the ankle of right hindpaw was overextended in

direction of simultaneous inversion and plantar flexion. Stepping force and

edema in the paw of the sprained ankle were measured by electronic

balance and plethysmometer, respectively. In both 2 and 100 Hz ESA

groups, stepping force was increased significantly in similar degrees

(p<0.05). Only 2 Hz ESA produced the significant rapid decrease in ankle

edema. This study demonstrates that ESA of 2 Hz and 100 Hz shows

comparable analgesic effects, but only 2 Hz ESA can facilitate the reduction

of edema caused by ankle sprain. PMID: 17449948 [PubMed - in process]

 

Clin Physiol Funct Imaging. 2007 May;27(3):154-61. The effect of

transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on local and distal cutaneous

blood flow following a prolonged heat stimulus in healthy subjects. Chen CC,

Johnson MI, McDonough S, Cramp F. Faculty of Health, Leeds Metropolitan

University, Leeds, UK, and Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, School of

Health Sciences, University of Ulster, N. Ireland. The aim of this study was

to investigate the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

(TENS) on blood flow and skin temperature following an elevation of

baseline blood flow using infrared preheating. A randomized controlled

approach was used whereby 66 healthy human subjects (33 male, 33

female) were allocated to one of three intervention groups (n = 22 per group,

equal male and female): Control, Low frequency TENS (4 Hz/200 mus), or

High frequency TENS (110 Hz/200 mus). TENS was applied just below

motor threshold over the median nerve of the right forearm for 15 min

immediately following an infrared preheating. Cutaneous blood flow and skin

temperature were recorded at 3-min intervals from the forearm and

fingertips during TENS and for 15 min following TENS. Analysis of data

revealed no significant differences between High and Low frequency TENS

for cutaneous blood flow or skin temperature at the forearm. A small and

short lived increase in cutaneous blood flow at the index finger was

observed on TENS groups compared with control when TENS was switched

off. TENS reduced skin temperature when compared to control during the

first 9 min of the 15-min stimulation period at the middle finger but not at the

index finger. It was concluded that the effects of high and low frequency

TENS when applied below motor threshold produced changes in blood flow

and skin temperature that were transient and small. PMID: 17445066

[PubMed - in process]

 

Clin Oral Implants Res. 2007 Apr 19; [Epub ahead of print] Influence of low-

level laser treatment on bone regeneration and osseointegration of dental

implants following sinus augmentation: An experimental study on sheep.

Jakse N, Payer M, Tangl S, Berghold A, Kirmeier R, Lorenzoni M.

Department of Oral Surgery and Radiology, School of Dentistry, Medical

University Graz, Graz, Austria. Objectives: The aim of this experimental

study was to evaluate if low-level laser treatment (LLLT) enhances bone

regeneration and osseointegration of dental implants in a sinus graft model.

Material and methods: Twelve sheep underwent a bilateral sinus floor

elevation procedure with cancellous bone from the iliac crest. Implant

insertion followed 4 weeks (six sheep) and 12 weeks (six sheep) later.

Sixteen weeks after second-stage surgery, animals were sacrificed.

Unilaterally, the grafted sinus and during the second-stage surgery the

implant sites were irradiated intraoperatively and three times during the first

postoperative week with a diode laser (75 mW, 680 nm). The overall energy

density per irradiation was 3-4 J/cm(2). Biopsies of the augmented area

were obtained during implant insertion and after scarification. Results: Bone

regeneration within the grafted sinus histomorphometric analysis hardly

differed between control and test side both 4 and 12 weeks after sinus

grafting. Osseointegration measurements resulted in a significantly higher

bone/implant contact (BIC) on the test side (P=0.045). Further evaluation of

peri-implant bone tends to amount in significant higher percentage on the

laser side (P=0.053). Conclusion: The presented experimental study on

sheep did not confirm a positive LLLT effect on bone regeneration within a

cancellous sinus graft. Nevertheless, LLLT possibly has a positive effect on

osseointegration of dental implants inserted after sinus augmentation. PMID:

17451409 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Clin J Pain. 2007 May;23(4):316-322. Effect of Acupuncture-like Electrical

Stimulation on Chronic Tension-type Headache: A Randomized, Double-

blinded, Placebo-controlled Trial. Wang K, Svensson P, Arendt-Nielsen L.

*Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Orofacial Pain Laboratory, Aalborg

University, Aalborg daggerDepartment of Clinical Oral Physiology, School of

Dentistry, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark. OBJECTIVE: The aim of

this study was to examine the effect of acupuncture-like electrical stimulation

on chronic tension-type headache (TTH) in a randomized, double-blinded,

placebo-controlled study. METHODS: Thirty-six patients (18 men, 18

women) with chronic TTH in accordance with the criteria of International

Headache Society were investigated. The patients were randomly assigned

into 2 groups: a treatment group and a placebo group. Pain duration, pain

intensity on a 0 to 10 cm visual analog scale, number of headache attacks,

and use of medication were recorded in a diary for 2 weeks before treatment

(baseline), early stage of treatment (Treat-1; 2 wk), late stage of treatment

(Treat-2; 4 wk), and after the end of treatment (Post-1, Post-2, Post-3

corresponding to 2, 4, and 6-wk follow-up). The patients also provided an

overall evaluation of the treatment effect at each stage. Patients were taught

how to use either an acupuncture-like electrical stimulator or a sham

stimulator (identical but incapable of delivering an electric current) and then

instructed to use the device at home. Six acupoints, bilateral EX-HN5, GB

20, LI 4, were selected to be stimulated 3 minutes for each point, twice a

day. Friedman repeated measure analysis of variance on rank was used to

test the data. RESULTS: The pain duration was shortened at Treat-1 and

pain intensity was decreased at Treat-1 and Treat-2 compared with

baseline. The overall evaluation of the 2 treatments indicated improvements

in both the treatment and the placebo groups, but with no significant

difference between the groups (P>0.061). Despite the apparent

improvement in both the treatment and placebo groups, a decrease in

analgesic use was only observed in the treatment group. There was also a

significant positive correlation between the reported intensity of the stimulus-

evoked sensation and the evaluation of the effect of either active or placebo

treatments (P=0.039). CONCLUSIONS: The use of acupuncture-like

electrical stimulation was not associated with significant adverse effects.

These results indicate that acupuncture-like electrical stimulation is a safe

and potentially analgesic-sparing therapy that may be considered as an

adjunctive treatment for patients with chronic TTH although the clinical effect

on pain seems to be marginal in the present set-up. PMID: 17449992

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Br J Biomed Sci. 2007;64(1):6-9. Lack of horizontal gene transfer of

methicillin-resistance genetic determinants from PBP2a-positive, coagulase-

negative staphylococci to methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus using

transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Wishart K, Loughrey A,

McClurg RB, Goldsmith CE, Millar BC, Rao J, Sengupta B, Dooley JS,

Rooney RJ, Moore JE. Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory,

Department of Bacteriology, Belfast City Hospital, Lisburn Road, UK.

Previous research shows that approximately half of the coagulase-negative

staphylococci (CNS) isolated from patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) at

Belfast City Hospital were resistant to methicillin. The presence of this

relatively high proportion of methicillin-resistance genetic material gives rise

to speculation that these organisms may act as potential reservoirs of

methicillin-resistance genetic material to methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus

aureus (MSSA). Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer from PBP2a-

positive CNS to MSSA, potentially transforming MSSA to MRSA, aided by

electroporation-type activities such as transcutaneous electrical nerve

stimulation (TENS), should be considered. Methicillin-resistant CNS (MR-

CNS) isolates are collected over a two-month period from a variety of clinical

specimen types, particularly wound swabs. The species of all isolates are

confirmed, as well as their resistance to oxacillin by standard disc diffusion

assays. In addition, MSSA isolates are collected over the same period and

confirmed as PBP2a-negative. Electroporation experiments are designed to

mimic the time/voltage combinations used commonly in the clinical

application of TENS. No transformed MRSA were isolated and all viable S.

aureus cells remained susceptible to oxacillin and PBP2a-negative.

Experiments using MSSA pre-exposed to sublethal concentrations of

oxacillin (0.25 microg/mL) showed no evidence of methicillin gene transfer

and the generation of an MRSA. The study showed no evidence of

horizontal transfer of methicillin resistance genetic material from MR-CNS to

MSSA. These data support the belief that TENS and the associated

time/voltage combinations used do not increase conjugational transposons

or facilitate horizontal gene transfer from MR-CNS to MSSA. Publication

Types: Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PMID: 17444411 [PubMed - in

process]

 

Anesth Analg. 2007 May;104(5):1150-3, tables of contents. The influence of

stellate ganglion transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on signal quality

of pulse oximetry in prehospital trauma care. Barker R, Lang T, Hager H,

Steinlechner B, Hoerauf K, Zimpfer M, Kober A. Department of Anesthesia

and General Intensive Care, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

BACKGROUND: Accurate monitoring of the peripheral arterial oxygen

saturation has become an important tool in the prehospital emergency

medicine. This monitoring requires an adequate plethysmographic pulsation.

Signal quality is diminished by cold ambient temperature due to

vasoconstriction. Blockade of the stellate ganglion can improve peripheral

vascular perfusion and can be achieved by direct injection or transcutaneous

electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) stimulation. We evaluated whether

TENS on the stellate ganglion would reduce vasoconstriction and thereby

improve signal detection quality of peripheral pulse oximetry. METHODS: In

our study, 53 patients with minor trauma who required transport to the

hospital were enrolled. We recorded vital signs, including core and skin

temperature before and after transport to the hospital. Pulse oximetry

sensors were attached to the patient's second finger on both hands. TENS

of the stellate ganglion was started on one side after the beginning of the

transport. Pulse oximeter alerts, due to poor signal detection, were recorded

for each side separately. RESULTS: On the hand treated with TENS we

detected a significant reduction of alerts compared to the other side (mean

alerts TENS 3.1 [1-15] versus control side 8.8 [1-28] P < 0.05). The duration

of dropouts was shorter as well (mean duration TENS 77 [16-239] s versus

control side 333 [78-1002] s). CONCLUSION: The data indicate that

blockade of the stellate ganglion with TENS improves signal quality of pulse

oximeters in the prehospital setting. Publication Types: Research Support,

Non-U.S. Gov't PMID: 17456666 [PubMed - in process]

 

Best regards,