Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux by Acupuncture
Zhang CX, et al. Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital
Affiliated to Xinxiang Medical College, Henan 453100, China. nn21882001@yahoo.com.cn
OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of
acupuncture in treating gastroesophageal reflux (GER). METHODS: Sixty patients with confirmed diagnosis of
GER were randomly assigned to two groups. The 30 patients in the treatment group were treated with
acupuncture at acupoints Zhongwan (CV 12), bilateral Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6), and Neiguan (PC6),
once a day, for 1 week as a therapeutic course, with interval of 2-3 days between courses; the 30 patients
in the control group were administered orally with omeprazole 20 mg twice a day and 20 mg mosapride thrice a
day. The treatment in both group lasted 6 weeks. Patients' symptoms and times of reflux attacking were
recorded, the 24-h intraesophageal acid/bile reflux were monitored, and the endoscopic feature of esophageal
mucous membrane was graded and scored at three time points, i.e., pre-treatment (T0), immediately after
ending the treatment course (T1) and 4 weeks after it (T2). Besides, the adverse reactions were also
observed. RESULTS: Compared with those detected at T0, 24-h intraesophageal pH and bile reflux, endoscopic
grading score and symptom score were all decreased significantly at T1 in both groups similarly (P<0.01),
showing insignificant difference between groups (P>0.05). These indices were reversed at T2 to high level
in the control group (P<0.05), but the reversion did not occur in the treatment group (P>0.05). No
serious adverse reaction was found during the therapeutic period. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture can effectively
inhibit the intraesophageal acid and bile reflux in GER patients to alleviate patients' symptoms with
good safety and is well accepted by patients.
Chin J Integr Med. 2010 Aug;16(4):298-303. Source: PubMed
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Acupuncture is Effective to Attenuate Stress and
Stimulate Lymphocyte Proliferation in the Elderly
Pavão TS, et al. Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular
Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS),
Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil.
Acupuncture has increasingly been used to treat many conditions, including psychiatric disorders and
immunological-related disorders. However, the effects of acupuncture as stress management and immune
functions in the elderly are largely unclear. Here we investigated the effects of acupuncture on
stress-related psychological symptoms and cellular immunity in young adults and elderly subjects. Twenty-four
healthy subjects were recruited at the Center for Physical Activities “Terra Brasilis” (Porto Alegre, Brazil)
and sub-grouped into 12 young adults (mean age 27.6 years, 23–38 years; 6 females) and 12 healthy elders
(mean age 65.6 years, 60–81 years; 6 females). The acupuncture treatment consisted of six sessions and the
procedures included the insertion of needles at bilateral acupoints LI4, SP6 and ST36. Psychological
variables (depression,
Anxiety and stress) were investigated by means of self-assessment inventories.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and cultured in vitro to measure mitogen-induced T-cell
proliferation as well as cellular sensitivity to dexamethasone. All data were assessed before and after the
intervention. Acupuncture was able to significantly reduce depression (p < 0.001),
Anxiety (p < 0.001) and
stress (p < 0.001) scores. The intervention also increased T-cell proliferation, with greater intensity in
the elderly group (p = 0.004). No changes in cellular sensitivity to dexamethasone were observed following
acupuncture. We conclude that acupuncture was efficient to attenuate the psychological distress as well as
to increase an important feature of cellular immunosenescence.
Neurosci Lett. 2010 Aug 12.
Source: PubMed
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Aqueous Extracts of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi
(Nu Zhen Zi) Enhance the Sensitivity of Human Colorectal Carcionma DLD-1 Cells to Doxorubicin-Induced
Apoptosis via Tbx3 Suppression
Zhang JF, He ML, Dong Q, Xie WD, Chen YC, Lin MC, Leung PC,
Zhang YO, Kung HF.
Chemoresistance has imposed a great challenge for cancer therapy. Fructus Ligustri Lucidi
(FLL) is one of the commonest Chinese herbs that has been used for thousand years. This study shows that the
aqueous extract of FLL (AFLL) enhanced the sensitivity of DLD-1 colon cancer cells to doxorubicin-induced
apoptosis. Furthermore, Tbx3 expression was found to be suppressed by AFLL when the expression of tumor
suppressor genes p14 and p53 were activated. Therefore, reduction of Tbx3 rescued the dysregulated
P14(ARF)-P53 signaling, which in turn contributed to the sensitivity of DLD-1 cells to doxorubicin-induced
apoptosis. As a conclusion, the findings suggest that FLL has a potential of being an appealing agent for
auxiliary chemotherapy in treatment of human colorectal carcinoma.
Integr Cancer Ther. 2010 Aug 11.
Source: PubMed
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