Electroacupuncture Attenuates Immune-Inflammatory Response in Hippocampus of Rats with Vascular Dementia by Inhibiting TLR4/MyD88 Signaling Pathway / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate whether electroacupuncture (EA) alleviates cognitive impairment by suppressing the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) signaling pathway, which triggers immune-inflammatory responses in the hippocampus of rats with vascular dementia (VaD).@*METHODS@#The experiments were conducted in 3 parts and in total the Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 8 groups by a random number table, including sham, four-vessel occlusion (4-VO), 4-VO+EA, 4-VO+non-EA, sham+EA, 4-VO+lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 4-VO+LPS+EA, and 4-VO+TAK-242 groups. The VaD model was established by the 4-VO method. Seven days later, rats were treated with EA at 5 acupoints of Baihui (DV 20), Danzhong (RN 17), Geshu (BL 17), Qihai (RN 6) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6), once per day for 3 consecutive weeks. Lymphocyte subsets, lymphocyte transformation rates, and inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) were measured to assess immune function and inflammation in VaD rats. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of nerve cells in the hippocampus. The levels of TLR4, MyD88, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected after EA treatment. TLR4/MyD88 signaling and cognitive function were also assessed after intracerebroventricular injection of TLR4 antagonist TAK-242 or TLR4 agonist LPS with or without EA.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the 4-VO group, EA notably improved immune function of rats in the 4-VO+EA group, inhibited the protein and mRNA expressions of TLR4 and MyD88 in the hippocampus of rats, reduced the expressions of serum IL-6 and TNF-α (all P0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#EA attenuated cognitive impairment associated with immune inflammation by inhibition of the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway. Thus, EA may be a promising alternative therapy for the treatment of VaD.

Effect of electrothermal acupuncture on moderate to severe cancer pain with / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effectiveness and safety of electrothermal acupuncture therapy for patients of moderate to severe cancer pain with @*METHODS@#A total of 60 patients of moderate to severe cancer pain with @*RESULTS@#The variation of NRS scores in the observation group were larger than the control group 3, 5 days into treatment (@*CONCLUSION@#On the basis of the conventional western medication for analgesia, electrothermal acupuncture could relieve pain, reduce the dose of opioid painkillers and improve the quality of life in patients of moderate to severe cancer pain with