Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Combination Therapies for Insomnia

Insomnia, a common sleep disorder, affects general well-being, hastens the onset of other diseases, and impairs work performance. Hypnotic medications are efficacious in the short term but have obvious side effects. Acupuncture, often used to treat insomnia in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is considered to be beneficial in restoring the normal sleep-wake cycle by regulating and restoring the natural flow of qi (energy power). The three main TCM theories for treating insomnia by acupuncture are the tranquilization disturbance, zangfu disturbance (disequilibrium of internal organs), and imbalance of yin and yang theories. Moxibustion, another treatment for insomnia, is usually combined with acupuncture. Acupuncture and moxibustion with tuina (exercise massage), acupuncture with Chinese herbal injection, electroacupuncture, and acupuncture with medication or psychotherapy are other interventions. Some acupuncture-based methods such as needle-rolling acupuncture, auricular acupoint plaster therapy, phlebotomy, and acupoint catgut-embedding therapy are used as well. Although most clinical trials have shown that acupuncture and its combination therapies are significantly effective in insomnia, the beneficial effects may have been overvalued, because of small sample size, nonstrict inclusion and exclusion criteria, flawed methodology, short follow-up, or nonstandardized evaluation. Therefore, clinical studies of high methodological quality are needed to verify the efficacy of acupuncture, moxibustion, and other combination therapies in insomnia.

STUDY ON ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION THERAPY FOR FEMALE URETHRAL SYNDROME

Among 180 patients with female urethral syndrome, 128 were treated by acupuncture and moxibustion and 52 by western medicine as controls. The short-term effective rate in the acupuncture and moxibustion group was 90.6% and the long-term effective rate, 80.4%; whereas the short-term effective rate of the control group was 26.9% (P 0.05). Sixty-nine cases from the acupuncture and moxibustion group and 39 from the control group were subjected before and after treatment to determinations of the maximal bladder pressure, maximal abdominal pressure, bladder-neck pressure, and maximal urethral closure pressure during urination. All these indexes were decreased remarkably in the acupuncture and moxibustion group, while no changes were observed in the control group.

Study of the mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion treatmentfor ulcerative colitis ratsinview of the gene expression of cytokines

AIM:To observe the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on the expression of IL-1beta and IL-6 mRNA in ulcerative colitis rats.METHODS:The SD rat ulcerative colitis model was created by immunological method associated with local stimulation. Colonic mucosa was prepared from human fresh surgical colonic specimens, homogenized by adding appropriate amount of normal saline and centrifuged at 3000r/min. The supernatant was collected for measurement of protein conentration and then mixed with Freund adjuvant. This antigen fluid was first injected into the plantae of the model group rats, and then into their plantae, dorsa, inguina and abdominal cavities (noFreund adjuvant for the last injection) again on the 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st day. When a certain titer of serum anti colonic antibody was reached, 2% formalin and antigen fluid (no Freund adjuvant) were administered separately by enema. The ulcerative colitis rat model was thus set up. The animals were randomly divided into four groups: model control group (MC, n = 8), electro acupuncture group (EA, n = 8), herbs partition moxibustion group (HPM 8), normal control group (NC,n = 8). HPM: Moxa cones made of refined mugwort floss were placed on the medicinal pad (medicinal pad dispensing: Radix Aconiti praeparata, cortex Cinnamomi, etc) for Qihai (RN 6) and Tianshu (ST 25, bilateral) and ignited. Two moxa cones were used for each acupoint once a day and 14 times in all. EA: Tianshu (bilateral) and Qihai were stimulated by the intermittent pulse with 2Hz frequency, 4mA intensity for 20 minutes once a day and 14 times in all. After treatment, rats of all four groups were killed simultaneously. The spleen was separated and the distal colon was dissected. Total tissue RNA was isolated by the guanidinium thiocyanate phenol chloroform extraction method. RT-PCR technique was used to study the expression of IL-1 beta and IL-6 mRNA.RESULTS:IL-1 beta and IL-6 mRNAs were not detected in the spleen and colonic mucosa of the NC rats, whereas they were significantly expressed in that of the MC rats.IL-1 beta and IL-6 mRNAs were markedly lower in the EA and HPM rats than that in MC rats. There was no significant difference between the levels of IL-1 beta and IL-6 mRNAs in the EA and HPM rats. The expressions of IL-1 beta and IL-6 mRNAs were nearly the same in the spleen and colon of all groups.CONCLUSION:Acupuncture and moxibustion greatly inhibited the expression of IL-1 beta and IL-6 mRNA in the experimental ulcerative colitis rats.

OBSERVATION OF THE EFFICACY OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION IN 62 CASES OF CHRONIC COLITIS

62 patients with chronic colitis were randomly divided into two groups. Acupuncture and moxibustion at acupoints such as Tianshu (St 25), Guanyuan (Ren 4) were applied in the treatment group, and western drugs were applied in the control group. The results showed that acupuncture and moxibustion had a marked curative effective with few side effects, and therefore was readily acceptable to the patients.

THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF NEEDLE WARMING THROUGH MOXIBUSTION AT TWELVE SHU POINTS ON RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic andgeneral immunologic disease,mainlyinvolving the joints.Clinically,it is manifestedby morning ankylosis,arthroncus,jointdeformity and dysfunction.It falls into thecategory of arthralgia syndrome in traditionalChinese medicine(TCM).The authors havetreated 55 cases of rheumatoid arthritis byneedle warming through moxibustion

Twenty One Cases of Vertebral-Artery-Type Cervical Spondylosis Treated with Acupuncture and Moxibustion

The vertebral-artery-type cervical spondylosis iscommonly encountered in the middle aged and oldpeople.The author has treated 21 cases of vertebral-artery-type cervical spondylosis by acupuncture andmoxibustion,with the other 19 cases treated only byacupuncture as the controls.The results are reportedas follows.Clinical

Effect of Electro-acupuncture on Rat Joint Pathomorpnology of Chronic Adjuvant Arthritis Model

Objective:To study the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on pathomorphological changes of joints in rat model of chronic adjuvant arthritis. Methods: The rat chronic adjuvant arthritis model was established by subcutaneous injection of 0.1 ml of complete Freund’s adjuvant to the left hind sole. Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into the model group, the low frequency (2 Hz) EA group, the high frequency EA (100 Hz) group and the body acupuncture group. After being modeled except the model group, the other three groups were treated with EA or body acupuncture in Yanglingquan points (bilateral) for 3 weeks, the left ankle joints and metatarsal joints of rats were taken for pathological examination by fixing with 10% formalin and embedding in paraffin, sectioning and staining with HE. Results: Obvious inflammatory cell infiltration, loosened synovial tissue, damage of articular cartilage and proliferation of synovial cells and granulation tissue were observed in the sections of joints in model rats.

TREATMENT OF 42 CASES OF ASTHMA WITH ACUPUNCTURE PLUS DRUG-CAKE MOXIBUSTION

In the present paper, 42 cases of asthma patients were treated with acupuncture anddrug-cake moxibustion at Dazhui (GV 14), Feishu (BL 13), Jueyinshu (BL 14), etc.. After treatment, of the 42 cases, 10 (23. 8 % ) had controlled their symptoms, 15 (35. 7 % ) experienced markedimprovement, l3 (31. 0 % ) had improvement and 4 (9. 5 % ) had not any effect, with the effectiverate of 90. 5 %.

The Present State and Perspective in Treatment of Primary Osteoporosis by Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Primary osteoporosis, a commonly encountered metabolic bone disease in the postmenopausal women and the aged people, can be classified by modern medicine into postmenopausal osteoporosis (Type I) and senile osteoporosis (Type II). The disease seriously affects health and quality of life of the people as it often cause ostealgia, fracture and the secondary symptoms or diseases. Presently, the pharmacotherapy (including both Chinese herbal drugs and western drugs) remains the first among all other therapeutic methods which are mainly adopted in treatment of the disease at home and abroad. Studies related have been curried out quite early and systematically, and considerable progress has been made, but limit of the pharmacotherapy has also been found. Certain non-drug treatments (such as dietetic therapy, physical exercise, acupuncture and moxibustion, and qigong, especially acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, although with a late start, have been proved effective with satisfactory results. The following is a summary of all the contributions concerned.……

DEVELOPMENT ON CLINICAL TREATMENT OF CONSTIPATION WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

In the present paper, the authors review recent developmarrt of clinical treatment of constipation with acupunctire and moxibustion from ① body acupuncture therapy including special needling manipulations, as Ziwu Daojiu Needling, etc. and acupoint combination,②electrcacupunture therapy, ③ scalp-acupuncture therapy, ④ auricular acupuncture therapy, ⑤ needleembedding and acupoint-catgut-embedding therapies, ⑥ acupoint-application therapy, ⑦ combinged acupuncture aud medication therapy, ⑧ other therapies such as cupping therapy and holo-therapy, and ⑨ considerations about the action of acupuncture in the treatmnt of constipation and its prospect. Up to now, researches on the effect of acupuncture in treating constipation are seldom seen, thus, much attention should be paid about this by clinical and experimental researchers.

A SURVEY OF EPILEPSY TREATED WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION IN RECENT YEARS

In this paper,we have introduced the developing tendencies and features of the treat-ment of epilepsy with acupuncture and moxibustion.studies on the naechanism of the therapeutic ef-fect.the evaluation of the clinical effect and some problems in the last 10 years.Moreover,we haveput forward our opinions for improving the treatment in future.

APPLICATION OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION FOR KEEPING SHAPE

On the basis of TCM diferentiation, the authors have treated 359 adult female cases of non-obesity with undesirable body shape by combined application of body acupuncture and moxibustion and auricular acupuncture, and achieved quite good remoulding and orthopedic results, suggesting that acupuncture and moxibustion can very effectively regulate the somatotypic indexes of body weight, circumference of the chest, loin, hip and thigh, the ratio of the loin to hip, sebum thickness, obesity degree, body mass index and body fat percentage of the cases in the overweight group and orthopedic groups 1,2. It is therefore concluded that acupuncture and moxibustion is a good therapy for obtaining a graceful body shape.

23 CASES OF CHRONIC NONSPECIFIC ULCERATIVE COLITIS TREATED BY ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

In recent years, the author has treated 23 in-patients and out-patients with chronic nonspecific ulcerative colitis and achieved good therapeutic results as reported in the following. Clinical Data In this series, there were 23 cases, 9 males and 14 females, ranging in age from 29 to 68 years, averaging 33.8 years. The duration of disease was 2 to 23 years, with a mean of 11.5 years. All the patients had symptoms and signs of the disease in varying degrees

A Case of Intractable Hiccup Treated by Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Hiccup is a syndrome characterized by continuous sound in the throat,short and frequent sound,and difficult to stop[1].Although the disease is not life-threatening,it seriously affects the quality of life of patients.Long term intractable hiccup will also have an impact on the psychology of patients and bring great trouble to patients.Hiccup is equivalent to diaphragmatic spasm in western medicine and involves a variety of systemic diseases[2].At present,the treatment of this disease includes drugs and nerve block,but the curative effect and prognosis are not ideal.Acupuncture and moxibustion,as a green and simple treatment method,has unique curative effect in the treatment of hiccup.Now the test of one case of intractable hiccup caused by ineffective treatment is as follows.

TREATMENT OF TENNIS ELBOW BY ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

Tennis elbow, or external humeral epicondylitis, is a lingering disease with an unbearable pain. It is very difficult to be treated with a higher recurrent rate. The use of acupuncture and moxibustion in treatment of tennis elbow has been appreciated. This review will focus on the methods and the therapeutic effects of treating the disorder by acupuncture and moxibustion in recent years.

ON THE INDICATIONS OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

Though with Wide Indications, Acupuncture and Moxibustion are not the Remedy for All Ills Treating diseases with acupuncture-moxibustion has a long history in China, and rich experience has been accumulated in its application. According to a statistics in early 1980’s by prof. Jiao Guorui, a senior researcher from China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture-moxibustion therapy has at least been used to treat 307 kinds of diseases, among

A CLINICAL STUDY ON ACUPUNCTURE FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF TOXIC SIDEEFFECTS DURING RADIOTHERAPY AND CHEMOTHERAPY

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy arecommonly used in the treatment of tumors.However,such toxic side-effects as leukopenia,gastrointestinal or systemic reactions occurredin the treatment are so serious that somepatients can not tolerate it and even abandonthe treatment.Recently,some doctors

43 CASES OF POSTOPERATIVE GASTROINTESTINAL DYSFUNCTION TREATED WITH ACUPUNCTURE PLUS AURICULAR-PLASTER THERAPY

After general surgical operation, a part of patients occur gastrointestinal dysfunction.The author has treated 43 cases of postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction by acupuncture plus auricularplaster therapy. Body points Neiguan((PC 6 ), Hegu(LI 4 ), Zusanli (ST 36 ) and Gongsun(SP4), and auricular points Shenmen(MA-TF 1 ), Wei, Jiaogan(MA-AH 7) and Dachang(MA-SC 4),etc. were selected. Results indicated that 31 cases were cured, 11 cases were effective and one casewas ineffective. The total effective rate was 97. 7%. There was no statistically significant differencebetween the kinds of diseases operated and therapeutic effects. The method is convenient and its actionlasts a long period with more satisfactory effects for treatment of postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction.

The effect of acupuncture and selection of acupoints on myelosuppression after chemotherapy

Objective:To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on myelosuppression after chemotherapy and summarize its acupoint selection strategy.Methods:After a systematic search,an acupoint database on myelosuppression after chemotherapy was constructed.A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy of acupuncture.On this basis,association analysis and cluster analysis were performed to explore the distribution of acupoints in SPSS Modeler18.0 and SPSS 22.0.Results:40 studies with 2988 patients were included.The white blood cell count,platelet count,red blood cell count,and hemoglobin were significantly higher in patients receiving acupuncture versus convention therapy exclusively.The two groups,however,did not differ in neutrophils count.Most acupoints,mainly distributed in the limbs and the back,were from the bladder meridian,the stomach meridian,and the spleen meridian.The lower sea and transport points were the most preferred specific points,in which ST36 and SP6 ranked highest in use.ST36-RN6,SP6-SP10,and ST36-SP10 turned out to be the most significant correlations in association rule mining.In cluster analysis,LI4-RN12,ST36-RN4-RN6 were grouped for their high similarity.Conclusion:For patients with myelosuppression after chemotherapy,acupuncture significantly inhibited the decline in blood cell components(white blood cell count,platelet count,red blood cell count,and hemoglobin)except for neutrophils.As the central combination of acupuncture prescriptions for this population,ST36-SP6-RN6-SP10-RN4 presented promising prospects and deserved more exploration for clinical use.

Clinical observation on electroacupuncture plus long-snake moxibustion for rheumatoid arthritis due to kidney deficiency and cold coagulation

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture(EA)plus long-snake moxibustion for rheumatoid arthritis(RA)due to kidney deficiency and cold coagulation.Methods:A total of 60 patients in active stage of RA were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,with 30 cases in each group.Patients in the control group took methotrexate tablets and nimesulide dispersible tablets orally for treatment,while those in the observation group received additional treatment of EA plus long-snake moxibustion.Both groups were treated for 12 weeks.The post-treatment changes in symptomatic grading and quantifying score,disease activity score with 28 joint counts(DAS28),and inflammatory indicators erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)and C-reactive protein(CRP)were observed,and the efficacy was evaluated.Results:The total effective rate in the observation group was 89.9%,versus 76.6%in the control group,and there was a significant difference in the total effective rate between the two groups(P<0.05).After treatment,the symptomatic grading and quantifying score and DAS28 in both groups were significantly improved(all P<0.05),and the improvements in the observation group were more significant than those in the control group(both P<0.05).Besides,there were 11 cases with low disease activity index(DAI)and in remission in the observation group versus 5 cases in the control group,showing a statistically significant between-group difference(P<0.05).The ESR and CRP scores in both groups were significantly reduced after treatment(all P<0.05),also showing statistically significant between-group differences(both P<0.05).Conclusion:The efficacy of additional EA plus long-snake moxibustion based on oral medications for RA due to kidney deficiency and cold coagulation is better than that of the oral medications alone.