Study of the potential mechanism of acupuncture treatment for functional dyspepsia based on association rule mining and bioinformatics/network pharmacology approach

Objective:To explore the main acupoint prescription and mechanism of acupuncture in treating Functional dyspepsia(FD)by analyzing the clinical randomized controlled trial literature on acupoints and targets of acupuncture in the treatment of FD combined with association rule mining and bioinformatics/network pharmacology methods.Methods:Search relevant clinical randomized controlled trial literature on acupoints and therapeutic targets of acupuncture in the treatment of FD from eight databases from their inception to June 18th,2022.We obtained acupuncture selection points,meridian,and therapeutic targets and established acupoints database for acupuncture treatment of FD.FD-related targets were collected from GeneCards,DisGeNET,OMIM,and DrugBank databases.We obtained the potential targets of acupuncture on FD by taking the intersection of acupuncture for FD therapeutic targets and FD-related targets.We performed the protein-protein interaction network,Gene Ontology(GO)analysis,and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis.Results:In this study,26 Randomized Controlled Trials related to acupuncture treatment of FD were retrieved.We obtained 29 acupoints,17 acupuncture for FD therapeutic targets,and 10 intersection targets.Tumor necrosis factor(TNF),Interleukin(IL)-1,and Neuropeptide Y(NPY)are key targets of acupuncture in the treatment of FD.Conclusion:ST36-CV12-PC6-LR3 is the main acupoint prescription for FD.Acupuncture may affect Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction,Gastric acid secretion,and IL-17,TNF signaling pathways by regulating related key targets,and play a synergistic role in the treatment of FD by inhibiting gastric acid secretion,alleviating inflammatory response,regulating the brain-gut axis,improving mood and other aspects.

Modulatory effects of acupuncture on brain networks in mild cognitive impairment patients

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been widely used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity. However, most functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have focused on acute changes in brain activation induced by acupuncture. Thus, the time course of the therapeutic effects of acupuncture remains unclear. In this study, 32 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment were randomly divided into two groups, where they received either Tiaoshen Yizhi acupuncture or sham acupoint acupuncture. The needles were either twirled at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints, including Sishencong（EX-HN1）, Yintang（EX-HN3）, Neiguan（PC6）, Taixi（KI3）, Fenglong（ST40）, and Taichong（LR3）, or at related sham acupoints at a depth of approximately 15 mm, an angle of ± 60°, and a rate of approximately 120 times per minute. Acupuncture was conducted for 4 consecutive weeks, five times per week, on weekdays. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging indicated that connections between cognition-related regions such as the insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, inferior parietal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex increased after acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints. The insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus acted as central brain hubs. Patients in the Tiaoshen Yizhi group exhibited improved cognitive performance after acupuncture. In the sham acupoint acupuncture group, connections between brain regions were dispersed, and we found no differences in cognitive function following the treatment. These results indicate that acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints can regulate brain networks by increasing connectivity between cognition-related regions, thereby improving cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

COMMENTS ON THE HOLISTIC ACTION OF ACUPUNCTURE IN VIEW OF ITS INFLUENCE ON NERVE-ENDOCRINE-IMMUNE NETWORK

In the present paper, the author makes some comments on the holistic action of acupuncture from the regulative effect on the nerve-endocrine-immune network, and the close relationship between the nerve-endocrine-immune network and the meridian-collateral system of TCM. The wholism concept of TCM refers to the organism being an integrated entirety, and the regulatory effect of acupuncture on functional activities of the organism relies on the integral connection of the acupoint-meridian-collateral-zangfu-organ system. When stimulated with acupuncture, the human body will brings its potential force into full play in preventing and treating diseases.

Brain functional connectivity network studies of acupuncture： a systematic review on resting-state fMRI

Background： Functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） is a novel method for studying the changes of brain networks due to acupuncture treatment. In recent years, more and more studies have focused on the brain functional connectivity network of acupuncture stimulation. Objective： To offer an overview of the different influences of acupuncture on the brain functional connec- tivity network from studies using resting-state fMRI. Search strategy： The authors performed a systematic search according to PRISMA guidelines, The database PubMed was searched from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2016 with restriction to human studies in English language. Inclusion criteria： Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed using the keywords ＂acupuncture＂ and ＂neuroimaging＂ or ＂resting-state fMRI＂ or ＂functional connectivity＂, Data extraction and analysis： Selection of included articles, data extraction and methodological quality assessments were respectively conducted by two review authors. Results： Forty-four resting-state fMRI studies were included in this systematic review according to inclu- sion criteria. Thirteen studies applied manual acupuncture vs. sham, four studies applied electro- acupuncture vs. sham, two studies also compared transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation vs. sham, and nine applied sham acupoint as control. Nineteen studies with a total number of 574 healthy subjects selected to perform fMRI only considered healthy adult volunteers. The brain functional connec- tivity of the patients had varying degrees of change. Compared with sham acupuncture, verum acupunc- ture could increase default mode network and sensorimotor network connectivity with pain-, affective- and memory-related brain areas. It has significantly greater connectivity of genuine acupuncture between the periaqueductal gray, anterior cingulate cortex, left posterior cingulate cortex, right anterior insula, limbic/paralimbic and precuneus compared with sham acupuncture. Some research had also shown that acupuncture could adjust the limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network, brainstem, cerebellum, subcortical and hippocampus brain areas. Conclusion： It can be presumed that the functional connectivity network is closely related to the mech- anism of acupuncture, and central integration plays a critical role in the acupuncture mechanism.