Effect of eye acupuncture on the expression of brainderived neurotrophic factor in hippocampus in rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

Objective To observe the effects of eye acupuncture on expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） in the hippocampus of rats after ischemia- reperfusion injury in order to study the mechanisms of eye acupuncture in improving ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a sham-operation group, a model group and an eye acupuncture group, with 8 rats in each. The cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established by thread occlusion method. Acupuncture at ＂liver＂, ＂upper-jiao＂, ＂lower-jiao＂, and ＂kidney＂ was performed for 20 min in the eye acupuncture group immediateness, 12 h and 23.5 h after the reperfusion. After 24 h of the reperfusion, the neurophysical behaviors were evaluated by Zea Longa neurophysical impairment score; the expression of ischemic hippocampus BDNF mRNA was measured by RT-PCR; the expression of ischemic hippocampus BDNF protein was detected by Western blot technique. Results After reperfusion 24 h, compared with the model group, the neurologic impairment score of the eye acupuncture group decreased significantly （P〈0.01）; the expressions of BDNF mRNA and protein in rat hippocampi after the eye acupuncture therapy were both obviously increased （P〈0.01）. Conclusion The eye acupuncture therapy is beneficial for neurofunctional rehabilitation by promoting the repair of the nerve cell which is induced by increasing hippocampus BDNF expression.

Effect of eye acupuncture on plasma PGF_(2α) in patients of primary dysmenorrhea

Objective To observe the clinical curative effect of eye acupuncture therapy on primary dysmenorrhea and the effect on content of prostaglandin F2α （PGF2α） in peripheral blood of menstrual periods. Methods One hundred and ten cases of primary dysmenorrhea were randomly divided into an eye acupuncture group （60 cases） and a medication group （50 cases）. In the eye acupuncture group, lower-jiao area, liver area, kidney area, heart area and spleen area, etc. were selected according to syndrome differentiation, and the eye acupuncture therapy was applied. In the medication group, 300 mg Ibuprofen sustained release capsule was orally administrated 1–2 days before menstrual onset or when the symptoms appeared, once every 12 hours, for 3–5 days totally, 3 menstrual periods constituting one therapeutic course. The content of PGF2α in peripheral blood, and the curative effects and recurrence 3 and 6 months after treatment were observed. Results Three months after treatment, the cured rate was 55.0% （33/60） and the total effective rate was 95.0% （57/60） in the eye acupuncture group, which were superior to those of 34.0% （17/50） and 82.0% （41/50） in the medication group （both P0.05）. According to the following-up after 6 menstrual cycles, the recurrence rate of 9.1% （3/33） in the acupuncture group was significantly lower than that of 35.3% （6/11） in medication group. The contents of PGF2α in peripheral blood of menstrual periods were reduced after treatment in the two groups （both P0.01）. Conclusion The curative effect of eye acupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea is significant, with the level of PGF2α in peripheral blood of menstrual periods reduced.

Case of eye acupuncture combined with body acupuncture in treatment of knee arthritis

The patient was diagnosed as knee osteoarthritis. She was treated with eye acupuncture at both kidneys, bladder, and lower jiao combined with body acupuncture bilateral Xīyǎn（膝眼 EX-LE 5）, Yánglíngquán（阳陵泉 GB 34）, Yīnlíngquán（阴陵泉 SP 9）, Zúsānlǐ（足三里 ST 36） and Hèdǐng（鹤顶 EX-LE 2）. The patient was cured after 10 times of treatment and pain was not found during follow-up visit for one month. The combination use of eye acupuncture and body acupuncture in treatment of this case of knee arthritis obtained good efficacy, which is worthy of clinical popularization and application.

Effects of different acupuncture methods combined with routine rehabilitation on gait of stroke patients

BACKGROUND Stroke refers to a group of cerebrovascular diseases associated with organic braininjury. It is characterized by the sudden and rapid onset of focal or diffusedysfunction. In recent years, in addition to routine treatment, Chinese medicineacupuncture has been administered to patients with hemiplegia, and it can beconsidered a new treatment for rehabilitation.AIM To investigate the effects of eye acupuncture needle retention and bodyacupuncture combined with routine rehabilitation on gait performance andplantar pressure in patients recovering from stroke.METHODS Thirty-two stroke patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly dividedinto an experimental group and a control group, with 16 patients in each group.Both groups underwent routine rehabilitation. The experimental group wastreated by eye acupuncture needle retention, and the control group was treated bybody acupuncture. Before and after 4 wk of treatment, both groups underwentkinematic and plantar pressure synchronous tests to assess gait performance.RESULTS The step length, gait speed, step frequency, joint angles of the lower limbs, andground reaction force impulse in the anterior region of the affected foot in bothgroups significantly increased from before to after treatment (P < 0.05);the center of mass displacement, peak pressure values, and impulse in the anterior region ofthe healthy foot and posterior regions of both the affected and healthy feetsignificantly decreased from before to after treatment (P < 0.05). The patients inthe experimental group showed greater improvement in the following parametersthan the control group: Step length, gait speed, step frequency, lower extremityjoint angles, center of gravity displacement, and peak pressure values andimpulse in the anterior and posterior regions of both the affected and healthy feet(P < 0.05).CONCLUSION Eye acupuncture needle retention and body acupuncture combined with routinerehabilitation can effectively improve the gait performance of patients recoveringfrom stroke. Between these two treatments, eye acupuncture needle retentioncombined with routine treatment is better than body acupuncture, and it can beconsidered a practical and effective clinical treatment.

Clinical application rules of different micro needle system therapy

Different micro needle system therapies have different advantages and characteristics.However,at present,the dominant diseases for which each therapy is appropriate are positioned relatively vaguely,and even the acupoint selections for the same disease are different.The clinical application of the dominant disease and application characteristics of each micro needle system therapy is a scientific problem that needs to be explored urgently.Based on the previous data mining study of the clinical application of auricular acupuncture,scalp acupuncture,abdominal acupuncture,eye acupuncture,wrist-ankle acupuncture,hand acupuncture,the second metacarpal bone lateral needling,facial acupuncture,mouth acupuncture and nose acupuncture,the diseases reported more in the clinical literature of each therapy were extracted to find out the same symptoms applicable to different micro needle systems.The clinical application and differences of different micro needle systems for the same disease were compared horizontally,and it demonstrated that the second metacarpal bone lateral needling,facial needle,mouth acupuncture and nose acupuncture were biased towards a partial corresponding therapeutic relationship between one part and the other part,and the eye acupuncture was biased to interfere with the whole by adjusting the function of the organs,and the auricular,scalp and abdominal needles had the both characteristics,and the wrist-malleolus acupuncture and hand acupuncture were often used in various disorders of the meridian-collateral level.The differences were researched and summarized to more accurately guide clinicians in the application of different micro needle system therapies.