Effect of electroacupuncture at “Fēnglóng”(丰隆 ST 40) on hyperlipemia in rats and its mechanism

Objective To explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture（EA） at ＂Fēnglóng＂（丰隆 ST 40） for hyperlipemia（HLP） in rats.Methods Forty health SD rats were randomly divided into a normal control group（group A）,a high fat forage group（group B） and a high fat forage ＋ treatment group（group C）,a high fat forage ＋ normal forage group（group D） and a high fat forage ＋ normal forage ＋ treatment group（group E）,eight rats in each group.EA was applied at ＂Fēnglóng＂（丰隆 ST 40） of the rats in group C and group E,once daily.After treatment of 30 days,plasma lipid levels in the rats,including total cholesterol（TC）,triglyceride（TG）,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol（LDL-C）,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol（HDL-C） were detected.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（RT-PCR） and Western Blotting were applied to detect the gene expression changes of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1（ABCA1）,peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha（PPARα）,liver X receptor alpha（LXR-α） and retinoid X receptor alpha（RXR-α） in liver tissue of rats.Results Compared with group A,contents of TC,LDL-C were significantly elevated in group B and group D（all P〈0.01）;compared with group B,above indices were significantly decreased in group D（all P〈0.01）.After the treatment of EA at ＂Fēnglóng＂（丰隆 ST 40）,contents of TC,LDL-C were significantly decreased（all P〈0.01）,and contents of TG,HDL-C did not change significantly（all P〉0.05）.Compared with group A,mRNA and protein contents of ABCA1,PPARα,LXR-α and RXR-α were decreased significantly in group B and group D（all P〈0.01）.But compared with group B,the above indices were decreased in group D.After the treatment of EA,mRNA and protein contents of ABCA1,PPARα,RXR-α and LXR-α significantly increased（all P〈0.05）.Conclusion EA at ＂Fēnglóng＂（丰隆 ST 40） can decrease contents of blood TC,LDL-C in rats of hyperlipemia and up-regulate the gene expression of ABCA1,PPARα,LXR-α and RXR-α in liver,so as to promote reverse cholesterol transport,with a certain therapeutic effect on hyperlipemia.

Therapeutic observation on electroacupuncture at Zusanli(ST 36) and Fenglong(ST 40) for senile dementia

Objective： To explore the clinical effects of electroacupuncture（EA） at Zusanli（ST 36） and Fenglong（ST 40） in treating senile dementia. Methods： A total of 74 patients were randomly divided into an EA group and a medication group based upon the random digital table, 37 cases in each group. EA at Zusanli（ST 36） and Fenglong（ST 40） was given in the EA group, once every day, for six treatments per week. Donepezil Hydrochloride Tablets were given to the medication group, 5 mg per time and once a day in the former four weeks, 10 mg per time and once a day after 4 weeks, oral administration before sleep at night. The courses of the treatment were 12 weeks in both groups. The scores of mini-mental state examination（MMSE） and Barthel index（BI） were observed before and after the treatment, for processing the comparative analysis of the clinical effects after the course of the treatment. Results： The total effective rate was 86.5% in the EA group and 70.3% in the medication group. The therapeutic effect was better in the EA group than that in the medication group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant（P〈0.05）. MMSE and BI scores after the treatment in the two groups were all elevated than those of the same groups before the treatment（P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. The improving situation was obviously better in the EA group than that in the medication group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant（P〈0.05）. Conclusion： EA at Zusanli（ST 36） and Fenglong（ST 40） is affirmative in the therapeutic effect for senile dementia and can also improve the cognitive function and enhance the patients＇ quality of life.