Korean red ginseng decreases 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced mitophagy in SH-SY5Y cells / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Mitophagy is known to contribute towards progression of Parkinson's disease. Korean red ginseng (KRG) is a widely used medicinal herb in East Asia, and recent studies have reported that KRG prevents 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP@*METHODS@#SH-SY5Y cells were incubated with KRG for 24 h, and subsequently exposed to MPP@*RESULTS@#MPP@*CONCLUSION@#KRG effectively prevents MPP

Acupuncture alters pro-inflammatory cytokines in the plasma of maternally separated rat pups / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the potential alleviating effects of acupuncture on maternal separation (MS)-induced changes in plasma pro-inflammatory cytokine levels of rat pups.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>On postnatal day 15, rat pups were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n=6 per group) using a random number table: normal, MS, MS with acupuncture stimulation at Shenmen (HT 7) acupoint (MS+HT 7), and MS with acupuncture stimulation at Chengshan (BL 57) acupoint (MS+BL 57) groups. Rat pups in the normal group were housed with their mothers under standard conditions; those in the MS, MS+HT 7 and MS+BL 57 groups were maternally separated and individually maintained. Acupuncture stimulation was performed at HT 7 or BL 57 acupoints once a day for 7 consecutive days. A tail suspension test was performed to measure immobility time of rats and the plasma was collected on postnatal day 21, then levels of corticosterone (CORT), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in plasma were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal group, the immobility time and the plasma levels of CORT, IL-1β, IL-6 and GDNF in the MS group were significantly increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the MS group, the immobility time and the plasma levels of CORT, IL-1β, IL-6 and GDNF were significantly reduced in the MS+HT 7 group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, the immobility time and plasma levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the MS+HT 7 group were significantly lower than those in the MS+BL 57 group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture stimulation at HT 7 can alleviate the behavioral impairment and changes of the cytokines by MS, indicating that acupuncture can help to relieve MS-induced depression.</p>

Changes in small intestinal motility and related hormones by acupuncture stimulation at Zusanli (ST 36) in mice / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To clarify the effects of acupuncture stimulation at Zusanli (ST 36) on the hormonal changes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice received acupuncture stimulation at acupoint ST 36 or Quchi (LI 11) once a day for 3 or 5 days in the acupuncture-stimulated groups, but not received in the normal group (n=6 in each group). On day 3 or 5, animals were given 0.1 mL of charcoal orally with a bulbed steel needle, 30 min after the last acupuncture stimulation. Ten minutes later, mice were anesthetized, and the intestinal transit and the concentrations of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), motilin, ghrelin and gastrin in the serum were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to no acupuncture stimulation, acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 for 5 days increased the intestinal transit and down-regulated the concentration of VIP and up-regulated the concentrations of motilin, ghrelin and gastrin (P<0.05 or 0.01), whereas acupuncture stimulation at LI 11 did not change them signifificantly (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 for 5 days enhances the small intestinal motility and regulates the secretion of hormones related to small intestinal motility.</p>

Acupuncture points for treating Parkinson's disease based on animal studies / 中国结合医学杂志

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a well-known neurodegenerative disease caused by dopaminergic cell death in the nigrostriatal pathway. Recent studies have shown that acupuncture can be a potential therapy for the treatment of PD, but it is not clear which acupuncture points (acupoints) play major roles in reliving symptoms of PD. Yanglingquan (GB 34), Zusanli (ST 36), Fengfu (GV 16), Taichong (LR 3), Baihui (GV 20) and Dazhui (GV 14) acupoints have frequently been to investigate the effectiveness and action mechanism of acupuncture for treating PD, but it is not clear why they were selected. This review summarizes the current understanding of the acupoints for PD treatment based on Oriental medicine theories and on the accumulated findings from previous animal studies. The results of this study will be useful to development of a strategy for future research in this field.