Analgesic effect on primary dysmenorrheal treated with conventional and sham acupuncture at San-yinjiao (SP 6) / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the difference in the analgesic effect on primary dysmenorrheal between acupuncture and sham acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) during menstrual pain and evaluate the impact of psychological effect on acupuncture analgesia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty subjects were randomized into an acupuncture group and a sham acupuncture group, 30 cases in each one. The conventional acupuncture and sham acupuncture were applied to Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on bilateral sides when menstrual pain began to attack and needles were retained for 30 min each time. Three menstrual cycles were required. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was adopted to determine the scores before and 0. 5 h, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h and 12 h after acupuncture during menstrual pain in each cycle separately.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the acupuncture group, VAS score at each time point after acupuncture was reduced as compared with that at the previous one during menstrual pain in each menstrual cycle, indicating the significant difference (all P<0. 05). In the sham acupuncture group, the scores in 6 h and 12 h of acupuncture were reduced as compared with the previous one, indicating the significant difference (all P<0. 05). After acupuncture, VAS score at each time point in the acupuncture group was lower than that in the sham acupuncture group (all P<0. 05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The conventional acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) achieves the significant analgesic effect on primary dysmenorrheal. The psychological placebo effect of sham acupuncture has no obvious impact on acupuncture analgesia.</p>

Effects of Naomaitong Recipe on expressions of nuclear factor-kappaB and nitric-oxide synthases in brain tissue after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in aged rats / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Naomaitong Recipe, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on the expressions of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and nitric-oxide synthases (NOSs) in brain tissue after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in aged rats and the dosage-effect relationship. METHODS: We adopted the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in aged rats as the focal cerebral ischemia model, with 3-hour ischemia and 12-day reperfusion, and observed the changes of the nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution and the expressions of NF-kappaB, heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) and NOSs in cerebral cortex. RESULTS: The nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution, the expressions of NF-kappaB, HSP70, neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS), endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) in the untreated group were higher than those of the sham-operated group. The nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution, the expressions of NF-kappaB, iNOS and nNOS were lower, while the expressions of HSP70 and eNOS were higher in the high-, medium- and low-dose Naomaitong-treated groups and nimodipine-treated group than those of the untreated-group. The nerve dysfunction score and the expression of nNOS were lower, while the expression of eNOS was higher in the medium-dose Naomaitong-treated group than those of the nimodipine-treated group. The expressions of HSP70 and eNOS were higher, while the other indices were lower in the medium-dose Naomaitong-treated group than those of the low-dose Naomaitong-treated group. CONCLUSION: Naomaitong Recipe can protect the brain cells from damage after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by adjusting the expressions of NF-kappaB, HSP70 and NOSs, and the medium-dose Naomaitong Recipe is more effective.