Characteristics and superiorities of acupuncture medicine / 中国针灸

Four characteristics and five major superiorities of traditional Chinese acupuncture was expounded in this article. The four characteristics are (1) theoretical characteristic which focuses on meridians, acupoints, circulation of qi and blood; (2) effect mechanism of disease prevention and treatment based on external stimulation and internal regulation; (3) clinical diagnosis with the combination of differentiation of syndromes according to meridians and collaterals, zang-fu organs, eight principles and diagnosis based on acupoints; (4) technical characteristic of adoption of unique apparatus and special manipulations. The five superiorities are (1) diagnosis: simple, rapid and accurate; (2) technique: easy to study and manipulate; (3) therapeutic effect: quick and obvious effect, extensive indications; (4) safety: non-toxic and less side-effects; (5) cost: comparatively cheap. Thus, it is held that acupuncture should play a more important role in medical service system with unique Chinese characteristics.

Thinking about academic development of acupuncture and moxibustion in recent ten years / 中国针灸

Through combing the academic development of acupuncture in recent ten years, objectively reflects the real development status of acupuncture subject on these aspects sucl as basis, clinic, equipment, teaching and standardization, etc., shows the scientific and technological achievements and the highlights of the acupuncture academic development, analyzes the bottleneck and dilemma of the acupuncture academic development. It is indicated that there are several problems existed in acupuncture researche at present, such as the scale and the input of the acupuncture theory research are not enough, the basic research and clinical application is disjointed, the correlation between the acupoints and viscera need more systematic and further researches, the design level of clinical research on acupoints' main indications should be improved. From now on we should follow the inherent rule of the traditional theory of Chinese medicine and the way of integrated thinking, explore the new rule of acupuncture academic development, in order to fit the new historical period, and comprehensively promote the sustainable and coordinated development of acupuncture science.

Effects of different segments of acupuncture serum on eosinophil counts in the rat with eosinophilia / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To further analyze and identify effective components of anti-asthma in acupuncture serum.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Changes of eosinophils in the peripheral blood of rats with eosinophilia were observed for 10 days after intravenous injection of the different segments of serum (serum: normal saline = 1:20, 2.5 mL/kg, from the first day of the model establishment, for 3 consecutive days).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After intravenous injection of different segments of serum, the eosinophil counts in the peripheral blood decreased significantly from the 3rd day as compared with those of the model group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The effective components of acupuncture serum from asthmatic rats treated by acupuncture for eosinophils are not a single component, and acupuncture stimulation may produce many kinds of components of anti-asthma.</p>