MA Hui-fang's experience in age-related macular degeneration treated with acupuncture at Jingming (BL 1) / 中国针灸

The paper introduces professor MA Hui-fang's experience in age-related macular degeneration treated with acupuncture at Jingming (BL 1). It is believed that the basic pathogenesis of this disease refers to liver and kidney insufficiency and weakness of spleen qi. Based on the academic ideas of yang qi and meridian-collateral system, the treatment principle is proposed as "invigorating yang qi, replenishing the liver and kidney and nourishing the spleen and stomach". Regarding acupoint selection, Jingming (BL 1) is specially used, combined with the 4 front-mu points (Zhongwan [CV 12], Guanyuan [CV 4] and bilateral Tianshu [ST 25]), as well as the empirical points for eye diseases (Jingming [BL 1], Baihui [GV 20] and Zulinqi [GB 41]). Concerning to needling technique, shuci (transport needling), fenci (intermuscular needling) and yuandaoci (distal needling) are dominated. Eventually, a set of unique therapeutic method has been accumulated through professor MA Hui-fang's clinical practice in treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

Effect of acupuncture on intestinal flora in rats with stress gastric ulcer / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of acupuncture at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) on intestinal flora in rats with stress gastric ulcer (SGU) , and to explore the mechanism of acupuncture promoting SGU recovery.@*METHODS@#Thirty-one SPF SD rats were randomly divided into a control group (7 rats), a model control group (8 rats), an acupuncture group (8 rats) and a medication group (8 rats). The rats in the model group, acupuncture group and medication group were selected to applied the improved restraint water-immersion stress method to establish the SGU model. After modeling, the rats in the control group and model group were fixed and restrained for 20 min every day for a total of 5 days; the rats in the acupuncture group were intervented with acupuncture at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Zusanli" (ST 36), once a day, 20 min each time, and twisting needle for 30 s every 5 min for a total of 5 days; the rats in the medication group were gavaged by solution of omeprazole enteric-coated tablet (200 mg/mL), 2 mL for each rat, once a day. Guth method was used to calculate the gastric mucosal damage index (GMDI), HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of gastric mucosa, and 16SrDNA identification was used to detect the structural abundance of intestinal flora.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, the GMDI of rats in the model group was increased (<0.01), the gastric mucosal pathological changes were significant, and the intestinal flora richness index Chao1, Observed species and diversity index Shannon were all decreased (<0.05), the diversity index Simpson was increased (<0.05). Compared with the model group, the GMDI of rats in the acupuncture group and medication group was reduced (<0.01, <0.05), the gastric mucosal damage degree was reduced, and the intestinal flora richness index Chao1, Observed species and diversity index Shannon were all increased (<0.05) and the diversity index Simpson decreased (<0.05). Compared with the medication group, the GMDI of rats in the acupuncture group was reduced (<0.01), the recovery of gastric mucosal injury was better than that of the medication group.@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture can effectively improve gastric mucosal injury of SGU, and the mechanism may be related to increasing the diversity of intestinal flora and promoting the correction of the disordered intestinal flora.

Moxibustion improved gastric ulcer by reducing contents of corticotrophin-releasing hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone in serum and hypothalamus-pituitary tissues in rats with stress-induced gastric ulcer / 针刺研究

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of moxibustion of "Zhongwan" (CV12) and "Zusanli" (ST36) on histopathological changes of the gastric mucosa and contents of corticotropin-releasing hormone(CRH) and adrenocorticotrophic hormone(ACTH) in the serum, hypothalamus and pituitary tissues in rats with stress-induced gastric ulcer(SGU), so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying improvement of SGU. METHODS: A total of 28 male SD rats were randomly divided into blank control, model, moxibustion, and medication groups, with 7 rats in each group. The SGU model was established by water immersion restraint stress for 3 h. Moxibustion was applied to "Zhongwan"(CV12) and bilateral "Zusanli" (ST36) for 20 min, once a day for 5 days, and rats of the medication group were treated by gavage of Omeprazole enteric-coated tablets (0.2 mg/kg) once a day for 5 days. The gastric mucosal damage index (ulcer index, UI) was measured to assess the injury severity according to Guth's me-thods. Histopathological changes of the gastric mucosa were determined by H．E. staining. The contents of CRH in serum and hypothalamus and ACTH in serum and pituitary gland tissue were assayed by using ELISA. RESULTS: Outcomes of H．E. staining showed gastric mucosal epithelia defect, disordered arrangement of glands, obvious mucosal hyperemia and edema, exudation of a large number of red blood cells, swelling of mucosal cells with necrosis of nuclei in the model group. These situations were relatively milder in the moxibustion and medication groups. After modeling, the UI, and the contents of CRH in the serum and hypotha-lamus, and ACTH in the serum and pituitary tissue were significantly increased in comparison with the blank control group (P0.05)．. CONCLUSION: Moxibustion can relieve gastric mucosal injury induced by stress in water immersion restraint stress rats, which may be associated with its effects in down-regulating the levels of CRH and ACTH in se-rum, hypothalamus and pituitary tissues (inhibition of activities of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis)．.