Eye-acupuncture as adjuvant therapy for stroke:A bibliometric analysis of clinical studies

Background:Eye-acupuncture(EA)is a fine-needle acupuncture therapy for systemic diseases.This bibliometric analysis aims to provide a comprehensive review of the characteristics of EA for ischemic or hemorrhagic apoplexy based on clinical studies.Methods:A total of 195 clinical studies from six databases such as CNKI,VIP,Wanfang Data,SinoMed,PubMed and the Cochrane Library from inception to December 31,2017 were included.Bibliometric information mainly including study type,participant characteristics,intervention and comparison details,and outcomes were extracted.Data was analyzed descriptively using SPSS
software to determine their distribution(range,interquartile range)and central tendency(median).Results:The studies covered 108 RCTs,36 controlled clinical trials,45 case series and 6 case reports on EA for treatment of ischemic or hemorrhagic apoplexy,involved 15466 stroke patients.EA was used at different stages of ischemic or hemorrhagic apoplexy:acute stage(n Z 38),recovery(n Z 32),sequela(n Z 13)and unclear(n Z 112).The most frequently used EA acupoints were in the upper-jiao and lower-jiao regions.The commonly used comparisons were EA alone versus traditional acupuncture,or EA plus traditional acupuncture versus traditional acupuncture.Neurological deficit scale,Modified Barthel Index,and activities of daily living were the most frequently used outcome measures.Conclusion:EA as an adjuvant therapy is effective and safe in treating stroke at acute and recovery stages,but high-quality RCTs are lacking.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON EFFECTS OF EYE-ACUPUNCTURE ON LEFT-VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN PATIENTS OF HYPERTENSION

Eye-acupuncture is a new and more unique micro-needling therapy in acupuncture andmoxibustion. In the present paper, 180 cases of hypertension were treated respectively with eyeacupuncture, body-acupuncture and oral administration of hypotensor, and determination of heart function, including ultrasound cardiogram(UCG) and systolic interval(STI) and other objective indexeswere used to observe the effect of eye-acupuncture on left-ventricular function (LVF) and blood pressure at hypertension state, and their therapeutic effects were compared, so as to show characteristics andadvantages of eye-acupuncture.

Effects of eye-acupuncture on the expression of brainderived neurotrophic factor in the brain of rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion

Objective To observe the effects of eye-acupuncture therapy and bodyacupuncture therapy on the expression of brain-deprived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury （CIRI）. Methods According to random number table, 48 SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, including normal control group （group A）, sham operation group （group B）, model group （group C）, eye-acupuncture group （group D）, non-acupoint of eye-acupuncture group （group E） and body-acupuncture group （group F）, eight rats in each group. Artery infarction reperfusion model were prepared by using suture-occluded method. Liver region, upper energizer area, lower energizer area and kidney region were selected in the group D. Acupuncture was carried out at the point located at 3 mm from the acupoint areas in the group E. Qūchí （曲池 LI 11）, Zúsānl （足三里 ST 36） and other acupoints were selected in the group F. Zea Longa scoring method was utilized for scoring the neural functions of rats; real-time PCR was carried out to examine the expression level of BDNF mRNA in the brain 72 h after ischemia reperfusion; western blot was carried out to examine the expression level of BDNF protein in the brain 72 h after ischemia reperfusion. Results The symptoms of neurologic impairments in the rats of the group D were alleviated in comparison to those in the group C （P0.01）, and the difference between the group D and the group F was not statistically significant （P0.05）; Compared with the group C, the mRNA and protein expression levels of BDNF in the brain of rats in the group D and the group F both increased （P0.01）, but the difference between the group D and the group F was not statistically significant （P0.05）. Conclusion The functions of eye-acupuncture and body-acupuncture in improving cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury are similar, and the functional mechanisms for the two different therapies may be related to the up-regulation of BDNF expression in brain and thus promote the repairing of brain tissues.