Acupressure: a possible therapeutic strategy for anxiety related to COVID-19: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: From the end of 2019 to December 2023, the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. The scope and ultimate repercussions of the pandemic on global health and well-being remained uncertain, ushering in a wave of fear, anxiety, and worry. This resulted in many individuals succumbing to fear and despair. Acupoint massage emerged as a safe and effective alternative therapy for anxiety relief. However, its efficacy was yet to be extensively backed by evidence-based medicine. This study aimed to enhance the clinical effectiveness of acupoint massage and extend its benefits to a wider population. It undertakes a systematic review of the existing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the impact of acupoint massage on anxiety treatment, discussing its potential benefits and implications. This research aims to furnish robust evidence supporting anxiety treatment strategies for patients afflicted with COVID-19 disease and spark new approaches to anxiety management. Objectives: This study evaluates the evidence derived from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quantifies the impact of acupressure on anxiety manifestations within the general population, and proposes viable supplementary intervention strategies for managing COVID-19 related anxiety. Materials and methods: This review included RCTs published between February 2014 and July 2023, that compared the effects of acupressure with sham control in alleviating anxiety symptomatology as the outcome measure. The studies were sourced from the multiple databases, including CINAHL, EBM Reviews, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science. A meta-analysis was performed on the eligible studies, and an overall effect size was computed specifically for the anxiety outcome. The Cochrane Collaboration Bias Risk Assessment Tool (RevMan V5.4) was employed to assess bias risk, data integration, meta-analysis, and subgroup analysis. The mean difference, standard mean deviation, and binary data were used to represent continuous outcomes. Results: Of 1,110 studies of potential relevance, 39 met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The majority of the studies reported a positive effect of acupressure in assuaging anticipatory anxiety about treatment. Eighteen studies were evaluated using the STAI scale. The acupressure procedures were thoroughly documented, and studies exhibited a low risk of bias. The cumulative results of the 18 trials showcased a more substantial reduction in anxiety in the acupressure group compared to controls (SMD = -5.39, 95% CI -5.61 to -5.17, p < 0.01). A subsequent subgroup analysis, based on different interventions in the control group, demonstrated improvement in anxiety levels with sham acupressure in improving changes in anxiety levels (SMD -1.61, 95% CI: -2.34 to -0.87, p < 0.0001), and blank controls (SMD -0.92, 95% CI: -2.37 to 0.53, p = 0.22). Conclusion: In the clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine treatment of anxiety, acupressure demonstrated effectiveness in providing instant relief from anxiety related to multiple diseases with a medium effect size. Considering the increasing incidence of anxiety caused by long COVID, the widespread application of acupressure appears feasible. However, the results were inconsistent regarding improvements on physiological indicators, calling for more stringent reporting procedures, including allocation concealment, to solidify the findings.

Cartilage protective and anti-edema effects of JTF in osteoarthritis via inhibiting NCOA4-HMGB1-driven ferroptosis and aquaporin dysregulation.

BACKGROUND: Preventing joint edema is crucial in halting osteoarthritis (OA) progression. Growing clinical evidence indicate that Jianpi-Tongluo Formula (JTF) may have a promising anti-edema effect. However, the therapeutic properties of JTF and the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An OA rat model was established and employed to evaluate pharmacological effects of JTF in vivo based on dynamic histopathologic assessments and micro-CT observations. Then, OA-related genes and potential targets of JTF were identified through clinical transcriptomic data analysis and "disease gene-drug target" network analysis, which were verified by a series of in vivo experiments. RESULTS: JTF administration effectively reduced pain and joint edema, inhibited matrix degradation, chondrocyte apoptosis, and aquaporin expression in OA rats. Notably, JTF dose-dependently reversed damage-associated molecular patterns and inflammatory factor upregulation. Mechanically, our "disease gene-drug target" network analysis indicated that the NCOA4-HMGB1-GSK3B-AQPs axis, implicated in ferroptosis and aquaporin dysregulation, may be potentially served as a target of JTF against OA. Accordingly, JTF mitigated NCOA4, HMGB1, and GSK3B expression, oxidative stress, and iron metabolism aberrations in OA rats. Furthermore, JTF treatment significantly attenuated the aberrant upregulation of AQP1, AQP3, and AQP4 proteins observed in cartilage tissues of OA rats. CONCLUSION: Our data reveal for the first time that JTF may exert cartilage protective and anti-edema effects in osteoarthritis therapy by inhibiting NCOA4-HMGB1-driven ferroptosis and aquaporin dysregulation.

Electroacupuncture Enhances the Functional Connectivity of Limbic System to Neocortex in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Our previous study revealed that acupuncture may exhibit therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's disease (AD) through the activation of metabolism in memory-related brain regions. However, the underlying functional mechanism remains poorly understood and warrants further investigation. In this study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to explore the potential effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the 5xFAD mouse model of AD. We found that the EA group exhibited significant improvements in the number of platforms crossed and the time spent in the target quadrant when compared with the Model group (p < 0.05). The functional connectivity (FC) of left hippocampus (Hip) was enhanced significantly among 12 regions of interest (ROIs) in the EA group (p < 0.05). Based on the left Hip as the seed point, the rsfMRI analysis of the entire brain revealed increased FC between the limbic system and the neocortex in the 5xFAD mice after EA treatment. Additionally, the expression of amyloid-ß(Aß) protein and deposition in the Hip showed a downward trend in the EA group compared to the Model group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our findings indicate that EA treatment can improve the learning and memory abilities and inhibit the expression of Aß protein and deposition of 5xFAD mice. This improvement may be attributed to the enhancement of the resting-state functional activity and connectivity within the limbic-neocortical neural circuit, which are crucial for cognition, motor function, as well as spatial learning and memory abilities in AD mice.

(20R)-Panaxadiol as a Natural Active Component with Anti-Obesity Effects on ob/ob Mice via Modulating the Gut Microbiota.

Obesity is an important cause of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver and atherosclerosis. The use of ingredients extracted from traditional Chinese medicine for weight loss is now receiving more and more attention. Ginseng has been recorded since ancient times for the treatment of diabetes. The (20R)-Panaxadiol (PD) belongs to the ginseng diol type compounds, which are moderately bioavailable and may remain in the intestinal tract for a longer period of time. This study investigated the potential positive effect of PD in ob/ob mice and evaluated its effect against obesity. The ob/ob mice were administered PD for ten weeks. Our study showed that PD could improve obesity, glucose tolerance disorder, as well as gut dysbiosis. Panaxadiol decreased ob/ob mice's Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B). Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the fecal microbiota suggested that PD changed the composition of the gut microbiota in ob/ob mice and modulated specific bacteria such as lactobacillus, prevotellace and so on. Moreover, PD improved the intestinal wall integrity. In conclusion, our results suggest that (20R)-Panaxadiol, as an active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb ginseng, may improve obesity to some extent via improving gut microbiota.

Acupuncture for neuropathic pain: A meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is expected to increase due to the high risk of global population aging. Acupuncture has a definite clinical effect on NP. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the effect on pain intensity and safety of acupuncture in patients with NP. Methods: An encompassing search of specific authoritative databases in English, from their inception to 2022, was performed. The databases were as follows: Scopus, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid MEDLINE(R) and Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, and Daily. All the randomized controlled trials regarding the acupuncture treatment of NP will be included. Methodological quality assessment of the included trials was assessed based on the risk of bias from the Cochrane handbook. A meta-analysis was performed for the main outcomes. In addition, sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis, and funnel plot were also carried out. Results: A total of 16 studies with 1,021 patients with NP were evaluated in a systematic review. According to the results of the overall meta-analysis in eight RCTs with 338 participants, the acupuncture group was better than the control group in improving changes in pain intensity (SMD -0.59, 95% CI: -0.95 to -0.23, P = 0.001). In subgroup analysis, five trials indicated that acupuncture was more effective in improving changes in pain intensity than sham acupuncture (SMD -0.54, 95% CI: -0.95 to -0.13, P = 0.01), two trials evaluated the effect on changes in pain intensity in the comparison of acupuncture and conventional treatments, no significant difference existed (SMD -0.61, 95% CI: -1.83 to 0.61, P = 0.33), and one trial compared acupuncture with blank control evaluating the effect of changes in pain intensity with a significant difference. Eleven studies mentioned the safety conditions and acupuncture-induced AEs were mild and reversible. Both the sensitivity analysis and funnel plot analysis showed that the meta-analysis was stable and irreversible without publication bias. The GRADE was rated as "very low." Conclusion: The acupuncture group had higher effectiveness than sham intervention or blank control for changes in pain intensity, but there is no significant difference between acupuncture and conventional treatments in treating NP. The acupuncture-induced adverse events were mild and reversible. However, the interpretation of our results should be performed cautiously due to the low methodological quality of selected publications. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022306461.

Acupuncture combined with balloon dilation for post-stroke cricopharyngeal achalasia: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with balloon dilatation in patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeal achalasia (CPA) according to the effective rate, videofluoroscopy swallowing study (VFSS) score and standardized swallowing function assessment scale (SSA) score through Meta-analysis. Methods: English and Chinese language literature published before July 24,2022 were searched in ten electronic databases. The identified articles were screened, data were extracted, and the methodological quality of the included trials was assessed. Using RevMan 5.4.1 software to perform Meta-analysis. Results: 10 studies with 517 patients with post-stroke CPA were included. Meta-analysis showed that the effective rate of the experience group was higher than that of the control group [OR = 0.62; 95% CI (2.32, 13.05); I 2 = 0%; p = 0.0001]. Compared to the control group, the SSA score was lower in the experience group [MD = -4.22; 95% CI (-4.57, -3.87); I 2 = 42%; p < 0.00001]. In terms of VFSS scores, the experience group showed greater efficacy differences than control group [MD = 1.53; 95% CI (1.32, 1.75); I 2 = 0%; p < 0.00001]. The subgroup analysis of VFSS score based on the average course of disease (<1 month vs. ≥1 month) showed no significant difference. The subgroup analysis based on average age (>60 years vs. ≤60 years) showed the VFSS score of the experience group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the effect may be better in the subgroup older than 60 years. The subgroup analysis based on the treatment course (>30 days vs. ≤30 days) showed the VFSS score of the experience group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the effect may be better in the subgroup the treatment course>30 days. Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with balloon dilatation may be an effective method for treating post-stroke CPA. Compared with balloon dilatation, acupuncture combined with balloon can significantly improve the swallowing function of patients, and it is also effective for patients of different courses, ages, and treatment course, while patients over 60 years old and the treatment course over 30 days may have better clinical outcomes.

Dietary supplements and herbal medicine for COVID-19: A systematic review of randomized control trials.

BACKGROUND: The world is currently struggling with the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Dietary supplements (DSs) and herbal medicine provide a potentially convenient and accessible method for its recovery, but direct evidence is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of DSs and herbs in patients with COVID-19. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in multiple electronic English and Chinese databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving DSs or herbal medicine interventions on patients with COVID-19 from November 2019 to February 2021 were included. Data was extracted, summarized and critically examined. RESULTS: Out of 9402 records identified in the initial search, twelve RCTs were included in this review. Risk of bias of these RCTs was deemed high. Most of the trials were of low methodologic quality. Nine studies showed herbal supplements were beneficial to the recovery of COVID-19 patients; zinc sulfate could shorten the duration of loss of smell but not total recovery from COVID-19. No severe adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION: Herbal supplements may help patients with COVID-19, zinc sulfate is likely to shorten the duration of olfactory dysfunction. DS therapy and herbal medicine appear to be safe and effective adjuvant therapies for patients with COVID-19. These results must be interpreted with caution due to the overall low quality of the included trials. More well-designed RCTs are needed in the future.

Effects of Tai Chi on Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

DESIGN: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from multiple databases from inception to December 2020 published in English were searched. Two researchers independently performed eligible study screening and data extraction. The methodological quality was assessed with the Jadad score. Meta-analysis of RCTs on TC in the treatment of MCI was performed with RevMan Version 5.4.1. RESULTS: Seven RCTs with 1265 participants were included. For most RCTs, the overall reporting of methodological quality was high. Results of the meta-analysis indicate that TC improved MCI patients' cognitive function significantly, including overall cognitive function (MD = -2.24, 95% CI -3.51 to -0.97, P = 0.0005), memory and learning (SMD = 0.83, 95% CI 0.22 to 1.45, P = 0.008), visuospatial ability (MD = 3.15, 95% CI 0.74 to 5.56, P = 0.01), executive functions (MD = 0.32, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.61, P = 0.03), and physical activity (MD = 18.78, 95% CI 10.80 to 26.76, P < 0.00001). However, no significant benefit was found for TC on psychological activity (MD = 0.17, 95% CI -0.62 to 0.96, P = 0.36) and biomarker improvement. CONCLUSION: The meta-analysis confirmed the clinical therapeutic effect of TC for MCI. More rigorous and long-term follow-up RCTs should be conducted in the future.

Using brain functional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with mirror therapy on upper limb function in patients with cerebral ischemic stroke: a study protocol for a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Upper limb and hand motor dysfunction is one of the challenges in rehabilitation after cerebral ischemic stroke (CIS), and the clinical efficacy of rehabilitation needs to be improved. This study aims to combine Jin's three-needle acupuncture (JTN) therapy with mirror therapy (MT) for hemiplegia after CIS, objectively evaluate the clinical effects and safety of JTN to treat upper limb dysfunction, and use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain to investigate the central mechanisms of the effects, which would provide a powerful evidence-based medical basis for further supporting the application of JTN combined with MT. METHODS/DESIGN: This trial will be a single-blind, randomized controlled study. Patients who meet the study criteria will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the combined treatment group (JTN+MT) or the JTN group. Both interventions will be conducted for 6 days per week and last for 4 weeks. The primary outcome will be the effective rate based on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE). Other outcome measures will include scores on the motor assessment scale (MAS), action research arm test (ARAT), activities of daily living (ADL) scale, and fMRI analyses. For safety evaluation, adverse events will be observed and recorded. DISCUSSION: This study may help to identify the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with MT for upper limb dysfunction after CIS and explore the central mechanisms with brain fMRI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-IOR-17012174 . Registered on 5 April 2017.

Acute and long-term effects of electroacupuncture alter frontal and insular cortex activity and functional connectivity during resting state.

Electroacupuncture (EA) is a safe method for treating obesity; however, its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We employed resting-state-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging (RS-fMRI) and amplitude-of-low-frequency-fluctuation (ALFF) to investigate acute/long-term effects of EA on brain activity and resting-state-functional-connectivity (RSFC) in overweight/obesity subjects who received real/Sham stimulation. For acute effects, 26 and 19 overweight/obesity subjects were included in EA and Sham groups respectively. There were significant time effects on ALFF in the right insula (INS) and left dorsolateral-prefrontal-cortex (DLPFC) due to decreases/increases in INS/DLPFC in both groups. There were weaker positive RSFC between INS and supplementary-motor-area (SMA)/right DLPFC and weaker negative RSFC between INS and precuneus (PCUN); stronger negative RSFC between DLPFC and dorsomedial-prefrontal-cortex (DMPFC) in both groups. For long-term study, body-mass-index (BMI) had significant reduction in EA (n = 17) and Sham (15) groups; EA had higher BMI reduction than in Sham. There were significant time effects on ALFF in right ventrolateral-prefrontal-cortex (VLPFC) due to significant increases in EA group, and stronger positive RSFC between VLPFC and orbitofrontal-cortex and negative RSFC between VLPFC and left thalamus (THA) in both groups after long-term treatment. These findings suggest that changes in resting-activity and RSFC implicated in inhibitory-control, gastric-motility and satiety-control are associated with EA-induced weight-loss.

Cerebral Responses to Acupuncture at GV24 and Bilateral GB13 in Rat Models of Alzheimer's Disease.

Acupuncture has been widely used in China to treat neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, its mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, eighty healthy Wistar rats were divided into a normal control group (n = 15) and premodel group (n = 65). Forty-five rats that met the criteria for the AD model were then randomly divided into the model group (MG), the nonacupoint group (NG), and the acupoint group (AG). All rats received positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, and the images were analyzed with Statistical Parametric Mapping 8.0. MG exhibited hypometabolism in the olfactory bulb, insular cortex, orbital cortex, prelimbic cortex, striatum, parietal association cortex, visual cortex, cingulate gyrus, and retrosplenial cortex. AG exhibited prominent and extensive hypermetabolism in the thalamus, hypothalamus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, cerebral peduncle, midbrain tegmentum, and pontine tegmentum compared to NG. These results demonstrated that acupuncturing at GV24 and bilateral GB13 acupoints may improve the learning and memory abilities of the AD rats, probably via altering cerebral glucose metabolism (CGM) in the hypothalamus, thalamus, and brain stem. The observed effects of acupuncture may be caused by regulating the distribution of certain kinds of neurotransmitters and enhancing synaptic plasticity.

Preheated milk proteins improve the stability of grape skin anthocyanins extracts.

The effects of casein and whey proteins, preheated at 40-100°C and 45-60°C for 15min, respectively, on color loss and anthocyanins degradation in grape skin anthocyanins extracts (GSAE) at pH 3.2 and 6.3 were evaluated. Preheating milk proteins effectively improved their protective effects against color loss and anthocyanins degradation in GSAE solutions during thermal treatment (at 80°C for 2h), H2O2 oxidation (0.005% H2O2 for 1h) and illumination (at 5000lx for 5 d). Whey proteins and casein, preheated at 50°C and 60°C for 15min, respectively, demonstrated the optimal protective effects. However, preheated whey proteins had a better protective effect on the thermal, oxidation and photo stability of GSAE, decreasing the thermal, oxidative and photo degradation of anthocyanins in GSAE 71.59%, 32.22% and 56.92% at pH 3.2 and 54.91%, 22.89% and 46.68% at pH 6.3, respectively.

[Detection of Late Blight Disease on Potato Leaves Using Hyperspectral Imaging Technique].

Hyperspectral imaging feature on potato leaves stressed by late blight was studied in the present paper. The experiment used 60 potato leaves. Among those 60 potato leaves, 48 leaves were vitro inoculated with pathogen of potato late blight, the rest 12 leaves were used as control samples. The leaves were observed for 7 continuous days before and after inoculated and samples including healthy and infested were acquired. Hyperspectral data of healthy and infected potato samples of different disease severity were obtained by the hyperspectral imaging system from 374 to 1,018 nm and then extract spectral data of region of interest (ROI) from those hyperspectral data by the ENVI software. In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, the spectral data were preprocessed using different pretreatment methods such as moving average smoothing, normalization, derivative, baseline etc. The least squares-support vector machine(LS-SVM) models were developed based on the raw and those preprocessed data. Among the nine models, the model that used the raw data and the data after the spectroscopic transformation performed best with the discrimination of 94.87%. It was demonstrated that it is realized to determine the potato late blight disease of different disease severity using hyperspectral imaging technique.

Complexation of bovine ß-lactoglobulin with malvidin-3-O-glucoside and its effect on the stability of grape skin anthocyanin extracts.

The binding interaction between bovine ß-lactoglobulin and malvidin-3-O-glucoside (MG), the major anthocyanin in grape skin anthocyanin extracts (GSAE), was studied at pH 6.3 using fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The binding constant (KS), binding force and effect of the interaction on the ß-lactoglobulin conformation and GSAE stability were investigated. The results indicated that ß-lactoglobulin complexed with MG mainly via hydrophobic interaction with KS of 0.67×10(3)M(-)(1) at 297K. The secondary structure of ß-lactoglobulin was changed by MG binding, with a decrease in α-helix, turn and random coil and an increase in ß-sheet. Bovine whey protein effectively prevented the color fading and degradation of anthocyanin in the GSAE solution during the thermal treatment (80°C/2h), H2O2 oxidation (0.005% H2O2/1h) and photo illumination (5000lx/5d). The whey protein-anthocyanin complexation appeared to have a positive effect on the thermal, oxidation and photo stability of GSAE.

Dietary supplementation of Bacillus subtilis and fructooligosaccharide enhance the growth, non-specific immunity of juvenile ovate pompano, Trachinotus ovatus and its disease resistance against Vibrio vulnificus.

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary administration of probiotic Bacillus subtilis and prebiotic fructooligosaccharide (FOS) on growth performance, immune responses and disease resistance of juvenile ovate pompano, Trachinotus ovatus. One thousand six hundred and twenty individuals (initial body weight: 10.32 ± 0.46 g, mean ± S.E) were fed nine practical diets according to a 3 × 3 factorial design: the basal diet as the control diet supplemented with three levels of B. subtilis (0, 1.05 × 10(7) or 5.62 × 10(7) CFU g(-1) diet), crossed with 0, 0.2% or 0.4% FOS. After an 8-week feeding experimental period, six fish per cage were sampled for immunity determination. Then 18 fish of each cage left were challenged by Vibrio vulnificus. The results showed that fish fed with 5.62 × 10(7) CFU B. subtilis g(-1) in combination with 0.2% FOS produced the highest specific growth rate, and were significantly higher than the groups fed with 0 and 0.2% FOS without B. subtilis supplementation (P < 0.05). Feed efficiency ratio significantly increased with the increasing doses of dietary FOS without B. subtilis added (P < 0.05). The immune assay showed that fish fed with the control diet produced the lowest respiratory burst activity and was significantly different from the groups fed the diets containing 0.2% FOS at each B. subtilis level and containing 0.4% FOS single (P < 0.05). Phagocytic activity was significantly decreased with the increasing doses of dietary B. subtilis at 0.4% FOS level (P < 0.05). Alternative complement pathway activity of the fish fed with 0.2% FOS single was significantly lower than those fed with 5.62 × 10(7) CFU B. subtilis g(-1) diet supplemented at each FOS level (P < 0.05). Fish fed with the control diet had the lowest lysozyme activity, and were significantly different from those fed with 0.2 or 0.4% FOS at 1.05 and 5.62 × 10(7) CFU B. subtilis g(-1) diet level. Moreover, fish fed with diets supplemented with 0.2% and 0.4% FOS at each B. subtilis level had notably lower cumulative mortality after 10 days following V. vulnificus infection (P < 0.05). Under the experimental conditions, dietary B. subtilis and FOS had a significant interaction on enhancing the immune responses and disease resistance of juvenile ovate pompano (P < 0.05).

[Randomized controlled clinical trails on treatment of knee osteoarthritis with acupuncture combined with blood-letting therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with blood-letting therapy for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and to analyze the synergism of the blood-letting therapy. METHODS: Sixty-three cases of KOA patients were randomized into a treatment group (n=31) and a control group (n=32). Patients of treatment group were treated with routine acupuncture at Ashi-points, Dubi (ST 35) and Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), Zusanli (ST 36), Yanglingquan (GB 34), etc. on the affected side, 3 times a week for 4 weeks, in combination with blood-letting (at the superficial veins around popliteal fossa) once a week for 4 weeks. Patients of control group were treated with routine acupuncture only. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index scores (WOMAC) and clinical therapeutic effects served as the objective indexes for evaluating the efficacy of blood-letting therapy. RESULTS: After the treatment, of the 32 and 31 KOA patients in control and treatment groups, 4 (12.50%) and 5 (16. 13) were under control in their symptoms, 14 (43.75%) and 17(54.84%) experienced marked improvement, 10 (31.25%) and 6 (19.35%) had an improvement, and 4 (12.50%) and 3 (9.68%) were failed, with the total effective rates being 87.50% and 90.32% respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the therapeutic effect (P > 0.05). In comparison with pre-treatment, WOMAC scores, pain index, and physiological integral scores in treatment and control groups after the first and the last treatment decreased significantly (P < 0.001), and their joint stiffness index of the last treatment also lowered considerably (P < 0.001). The difference values of the integral scores between post- and pre-treatment in WOMAC, pain index, and physiological function of treatment group were remarkably higher than those of control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with blood-letting therapy can effectively improve KOA patients' physiological function and reduce joint pain especially in the early stage.

[Trial for replacing fire needle by filiform needle].

OBJECTIVE: To promote a new kind of alternative needle of filiform-fire needle with fire needle. METHODS: The common three-headed fire needle, thick fire needle, less-thick fire needle, fine fire needle, single-filiform needle and three-filiform-needle were used by 20 medical staffs, and the time of heating needles was recorded. The advantages of using filiform needles compared with common fire needles were evaluated. RESULTS: The time of heating single and three-filiform needles was shorter than the other four common fire needles (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Filiform needle is better than the common fire needle in terms of production process,materials, and heating time, etc. Therefore, filiform needles can replace common fire needles for pricking.

[Clinically randomized controlled study on abdominal acupuncture for treatment of cervical spondylosis].

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical therapeutic effects of abdominal acupuncture and traditional acupuncture on cervical spondylosis (CS). METHODS: Sixty-two cases of neck or nerve-root type CS were randomly divided into an observation group (n=32) treated by abdominal acupuncture at Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4) and others, and a control group (n=30) treated by traditional acupuncture at Fengchi (GB 20) and cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2), etc.. Simplified McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and clinical therapeutic effects were served as the objective indexes. Their clinical therapeutic effects were compared after the first session of treatment, at the end of therapeutic course and 3 months after the end of treatment. RESULTS: The two groups had a same effective rate of 100.0%. All items of MPQ in these two groups after treatment and 3 months after the end of treatment significantly improved, and in the observation group the differences in the PRI feeling score before and after the first treatment, and the difference of the total PRI scores after the first treatment, at the end of therapeutic course and 3 months after the end of treatment significantly improved as compared with the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Abdominal acupuncture can better reduce the pain of the patient caused by CS, with transient pain-alleviating effect, but whether or not the clinical therapeutic effect of abdominal acupuncture is better than the traditional acupuncture still can not be proved.