Overall adjustment acupuncture improves osteoporosis and exerts an endocrine-modulating effect in ovariectomized rats.

Background: Acupuncture is a widely practiced, convenient, and safe treatment modality within complementary and integrative medicine. Increasing studies have revealed the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of osteoporosis in both human and non-human subjects. The aim of the present study was to assess the improvement of osteoporosis after overall adjustment acupuncture (OA) as well as its endocrine-modulating effect in an ovariectomized rat model. Methods: In total, 32 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into the sham, model, ovariectomy+estrogen (OVX+E), and OVX+OA (OVX+A) groups with eight rats in each group. The postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) rat model was induced by bilateral ovariectomy. At 12 weeks after surgery, rats in the OVX+E group received estradiol (0.2 mg/kg/i.g./qod) for 12 weeks, and rats in the OVX+A group were treated with acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36), Shenshu (BL23), and Dazhu (BL11) points (qod) for 12 weeks. At the end of the treatment, all rats were sacrificed, and the body weight, uterus index, bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), bone trabeculae structural parameters, femoral biomechanical properties, femoral histomorphology, and several hormone levels were examined. Results: In OVX rats, OA abrogated the body weight gain and improved osteoporosis in terms of BMD, BMC, bone trabeculae structural parameters, bone strength, and bone tissue histomorphology. Moreover, OA modulated the serum levels of estradiol, corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and corticosterone (CORT). Conclusions: OA improves osteoporosis and exerts an endocrine-modulating effect in ovariectomized rats.

Effect of Acupoint Embedding on Serum Leptin and Hypothalamus Leptin Receptor Expression in Rats with Simple Obesity.

BACKGROUND: Acupoint embedding treatment on obesity has been applied in clinical practice for many years and has achieved obvious efficacy. However, animal experimental studies on acupoint embedding are relatively few, and its mechanism remains unclear. METHODS: We established a simple obese rat model using a high-fat diet for 8 weeks. Acupoint embedding therapy was performed once a week for 4 weeks. After the treatment, serum leptin, triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were detected by radioimmunoassay, HE staining was used for fat morphology analysis, and immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of leptin receptor in hypothalamus. RESULTS: Compared with model group, acupoint embedding treatment can reduce body weight and Lee's index, reduce serum leptin, TG, TC, and LDL level, increase HDL level, change the morphology and number of adipocytes, and increase the expression of leptin receptor in hypothalamus. CONCLUSION: Acupoint embedding therapy can reduce the level of leptin in blood, increase the number of leptin receptors in hypothalamus, enhance the biological effect of leptin, alleviate the leptin resistance in obese body, change the shape of fat, and regulate the level of blood lipid, so as to achieve the goal of weight loss.

Acupuncture treatment on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder in childhood. Acupuncture treatment of ADHD has formed a relatively systematic theoretical and clinical treatment system which achieved satisfactory results. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of its effectiveness and safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of ADHD. METHODS: A systematic search of literature will be conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, the Web of Science, Excerpt Medica Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP, Wanfang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure database for articles published up to September, 2019. The searching terms include "attention deficit", "hyperactivity", "mild brain dysfunction", "acupuncture", "electroacupuncture". The search is limited to studies published in Chinese and English. Two reviewers will extract and evaluate the information independently. Cochrane Collaboration tool and Jadad scale will be used to evaluate the quality of the studies. Review Manager Version 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration's software) will be used to carry out the meta-analysis. RESULTS: High-quality synthesis and/or descriptive analysis of current evidence will be provided from effective rate, total score of traditional Chinese medicines syndromes, conners child hyperactivity-diagnosis rating scale, conners index of hyperactivity, the recurrence rate, and adverse events. CONCLUSION: This study will provide the evidence of whether acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention to ADHD. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202140022.