The needling sensation of deqi is considered by most acupuncturists to be an important component of acupuncture, yet neuroimaging research that investigates this needle sensation has been limited. In this study we have investigated the effect of deqi and acute pain needling sensations upon brain fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Seventeen right-handed participants who received a...

The present study investigates the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on urinary bladder pressure (UBP) in patients with acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI). Twenty patients with AGI admitted to the First Hospital of Jiaxing intensive care unit from December 2011 to June 2013 were evaluated. Conventional group patients (n = 10) were administered moderate enteral nutritional support, and electro...

Electroacupuncture (EA) therapy has been widely accepted as a useful therapeutic technique with low or no risk in the clinical prevention of cardiac hypertrophy. However, the signaling transduction mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear. The current study investigates the effects of EA on the signaling pathways of myocardial hypertrophy (MH) in rats. Up to 40 3-month-old Sprague-Dawle...

Laser acupuncture (LA) becomes more and more relevant in neonates and infants. With near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a continuous and noninvasive measurement of tissue oxygenation is possible. Aim was to investigate, whether the application of LA was associated with any changes in regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rcSO2) in term and preterm neonates. The study included 20 neonates (12 male...

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain. It has been suggested that some acupoints have a specific effect on heel pain. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and specificity of acupuncture treatment for plantar fasciitis. Subjects were randomly assigned to the treatment group (n = 28) or control group (n = 25). The treatment group received needling at the acupoint PC 7, w...

The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) on compulsive scratching in mice and c-Fos expression elicited by subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of a known puritogen, 5'-guanidinonaltrindole (GNTI) to the neck. Application of EA to Hegu (LI4) and Quchi (LI11) acupoints at 2 Hz, but not 100 Hz, attenuated GNTI-evoked scratching. In mice pretreated wit...

Propagated sensation along the meridian can occur when acupoints are stimulated by acupuncture or electrical impulses. In this study, participants with notable propagated sensation along the dian were given electro-acupuncture at the Jianyu (LI15) acupoint of the large intestine meridian. When participants stated that the sensation reached the back of their hand, regular nervous system action d...

BACKGROUND Recent advances have indicated a complex interplay between the autonomic nervous system and the innate immune system. Targeting neural networks for the treatment of sepsis is being developed as a therapeutic strategy. Because electroacupuncture at select acupoints can modulate activities of the autonomic nervous system, we tested the hypothesis that electroacupuncture at specific acu...

BACKGROUND Lung cancer is a serious threat to human health and life worldwide. Anxiety is common amongst palliative care patients with lung cancer and adversely affects quality of life. Acupuncture is an effective and safe treatment method used for the treatment of depressive mood status. We aimed to assess the influence of electrical acupuncture stimulation on self-reported anxiety in palliati...

BACKGROUND In this prospective, randomized, double-blind study, we verified the hypothesis that TEAS can alleviate remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia in patients undergoing thyroidectomy. METHODS 60 American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA) I-IIpatients, aged 18-60 year, scheduled for thyroidectomy were randomly allocated to TEAS or sham groups. TEAS consisted of 30 min of st...