Electroacupuncture Stimulation Alleviates Inflammatory Pain in Male Rats by Suppressing Oxidative Stress.

In the present study, we focused on whether the analgesic effect of Electroacupuncture (EA) is related to the regulation of oxidative stress. We established a chronic inflammatory pain model in male rats by a single injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and then treated the animals with daily EA stimulation at the site of "zusanli". The analgesic effect of EA was evaluated by measuring the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) when rats received mechanical and thermal pain stimulation. The levels of inflammation-related molecules and oxidative stress-related markers in the spinal cord were measured by western blotting or ELISA kits. EA stimulation and antioxidants effectively increased the PWT in CFA rats. Co-treatment of CFA rats with the ROS donor t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) further decreased the PWT and weakened the analgesic effect of EA. EA treatment inhibited inflammation and oxidative stress, as shown by decreased levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, and MDA and increased activity of SOD and catalase. Moreover, EA reduced the expression of p-p38, p-ERK, and p-p65 and simultaneously downregulated the expression of TRPV1 and TRPV4 in CFA rats. In an in vitro study, direct stimulation with t-BOOH to the C6 cells increased the production of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, activated p38, ERK, and p65 and up-regulated the expression of TRPV1 and TRPV4, and these effects could be prevented by the ROS scavenger PBN. Taken together, our data indicate that the inhibition of oxidative stress and the generation of ROS contribute to the analgesic effect of EA in male CFA rats.

[Observation on 17 patients of radio-ulcer with combined traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine therapy].

34 radioulcer patients were divided randomly into two groups, the TCM-WM group (17 cases) and the WM group (17 cases). The TCM-WM group was treated mainly with oral administration and external treatment of TCM plus wet-compressing with antibiotics, gradual elimination of necrotic tissue and symptomatic treatment. The latter group was treated with Western medicine therapy only including pain-killer, antibiotics, debridement and dressing change. The results showed that the total effective rate of TCM-WM group was 94.1%, significantly higher than that (52.9%) of WM group (P < 0.01). Meanwhile the mean pain-ceasing time, wound-cleaning time and effective time of the TCM-WM group were 62.18, 80.16 and 107.55 days respectively, significantly shorter than those (97.29, 116.86 and 169.83 days) of WM group (P < 0.010-005). This study suggested that the TCM-WM therapy could reduce pain quickly, clean wound well, promote granulation growth and epithelium regeneration so as to accelerate ulcer healing.