An investigation of the influence of intestinal flora in external traditional Chinese medicine therapy

External therapy,which has been used for millennia to treat disease,has now become the newest member of complementary and alternative therapies.A growing number of clinical studies and animal experiments have shown that external therapy exerts a positive effect on the intestinal flora.In this paper,we review the research related to external therapy on various systemic diseases and focus on changes in the intestinal flora.We found that studies on external therapy are dominated by acupuncture and tuina,primarily aimed at the treatment of digestive and neurological diseases.However,the deeper mechanism of regulation of the intestinal flora by external therapy has not yet been experimentally confirmed.

Effect of pediatric tuina on hypothalamic metabolites in young rabbits using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Objective: To investigate the changes in the hypothalamic metabolites of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) febrile young rabbits after the treatment with pediatric tuina.Methods: A total of 30 young rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups: the normal group, the model group, and the tuina group. Both the model group and the tuina group were injected intravenously with LPS. “Six antipyretic manipulations”(pushing Tianmen, pushing Kangong, kneading Taiyang,kneading Erhougaogu, clearing Tianheshui, and pushing Jizhu) were administered 1 h after the LPS injection in the tuina group. The rectal temperatures of the young rabbits were monitored during the experiment to explore the antipyretic effect. Three hours after the injection, the content of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-a, and prostaglandin E;(PGE;) in the serum was detected. In addition, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) was used for the hypothalamus metabolomics.Results: Compared with the model group, the rectal temperature of the tuina group was decreased at 2 h and 3 h after the LPS injection(P =.04, P =.03, respectively), and the content of IL-1β, TNF-a, and PGE2was decreased(P =.03, P =.003, and P =.008, respectively). The metabolomics results showed that there were 23 potential biomarkers after the tuina intervention, enriching 27 pathways. Lipid metabolites,especially glycerophospholipids, were a majority of the altered metabolites. The primary metabolic pathways affected by tuina included the arachidonic acid metabolism, the GABAergic synapse, D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, and the glutamatergic synapse.Conclusion: Pediatric tuina reduced the temperature of the febrile rabbits and downregulated the expression of IL-1β, TNF-a, and PGE2, and the antipyretic mechanism may be related to changes in metabolites and metabolic pathways in the hypothalamus.

Applying RNA sequencing technology to explore repair mechanism of Tuina on gastrocnemius muscle in sciatic nerve injury rats

To the Editor:Peripheral nerve injury(PNI)refers to the injury of the peripheral nerve plexus,nerve trunk,or its branches undertheaction of externalforces.Skeletal muscle-derived cells servea strong secretory,function while they can differentiate into Schwann cell-like cells or other ceil types,so that it can,effectively promote regeneration'of peripheral nerves.llUsing some specific acupuncture points with mild mechanical stimulation on the surface can have a positive effect on nerve repair.2i Tuina helps relieve symptoms such as muscle spasms and pain caused by nerve damage.There are three points belonging to the Bladder meridian of foot Taiyang(BL)and the Gallbladder meridian of foot Shaoyang(GB),which usually are selected to carry out Tuina.According to the anatomical nerve position,Yinmen(BL37)is on the sciatic nerve trunk,Chengshan(BL57)is on the tibial nerve,and Yanglingquan(GB34)is on the common peroneal nerve;meanwhile,the three points are on the sciatic nerve or its branches.The three points are on the biceps femoris,gastrocnemius,and tibial anterior muscles.