ABSTRACT
Objective: To observe the effects of different frequencies of pricking-bloodletting at auricular points plus auricular point sticking therapy on the levels of the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM), testosterone (T), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in patients with acne vulgaris (AV). Methods: Ninety patients with AV were randomly assigned to treatment group 1, treatment group 2, and treatment group 3 according to the random number remainder grouping method, with 30 cases in each group. All three groups received pricking-bloodletting at auricular points plus auricular point sticking therapy. Treatment group 1 was treated once a week, treatment group 2 was treated twice a week, and treatment group 3 was treated 3 times a week. Four-week treatment was taken as 1 treatment course, and 3 treatment courses were observed. On the day before the start of the study and on the day next to the end of each course, the global acne grading system (GAGS) score was recorded, and 3 mL of blood from the median cubital vein was collected to test the serum levels of IgG, IgM, T, and IGF-1. After 3 courses of treatment, the efficacy index was calculated according to the GAGS score, and the serum indicators in patients with effective treatment (efficacy index ≥20％) and complete sampling were analyzed. Results: A total of 60 patients were included in the final blood indicator analysis. After 3 courses of treatment, the intra-group comparisons showed that the serum IgG level increased significantly in patients in treatment group 1 (P<0.01); the serum T level decreased significantly in the female patients in treatment group 2 (P<0.05); the IGF-1 level significantly decreased in the patients in all three groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the serum levels of IgG, IgM, T, and IGF-1 among the three groups at each time point (P>0.05). Conclusion: Pricking-bloodletting at auricular points plus auricular point sticking therapy can affect the levels of serum IgG, T, and IGF-1 in AV patients. The level of the serum IGF-1 can be reduced by treatment once a week, twice a week, or 3 times a week. Treatment once a week can increase the patients' serum IgG level, and treatment twice a week can significantly decrease the serum T level in female patients. Reducing the serum IGF-1 level may be one of the action mechanisms of pricking-bloodletting at auricular points plus auricular point sticking therapy in treating AV.
ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the cumulative analgesic effects of electroacupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP6), Xuanzhong (GB39) and non-acupoint in treating primary dysmenorrhea. Method By adopting a multi-centered randomized controlled study method, 501 patients recruited from Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Capital Medical University, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huguosi Hospital of Chinese Medicine of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and the Outpatient of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were randomized into a Sanyinjiao group, a Xuanzhong group, and a non-acupoint group, 167 subjects in each group. The electroacupuncture intervention was applied when dysmenorrhea flared up and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) ≥40 mm, with frequency at 2/100 Hz and intensity during patient’s endurance, 30 min each time, once a day, and for successive 3 d. Before the first treatment, 30 min after the first treatment, and respectively prior to the second and third treatment, VAS was used to measure the pain intensity. Meanwhile, the Retrospective Symptom Scale (RSS-COX 2) was investigated before the first treatment, right after the removal of needles for the first treatment, before the second and third treatment. Result The decrease of VAS in Sanyinjiao group was more significant than that in Xuanzhong group and non-acupoint group (MD=﹣2.92 mm, P=0.028; MD=﹣3.47 mm, P=0.009), while there was no significant difference between Xuanzhong group and non-acupoint group (MD=﹣0.56 mm, P=0.674); there were no significant differences in comparing the RSS-COX2 total score among the three groups (P=0.086). Conclusion Sanyinjiao (SP6) can produce a more significant cumulative analgesic effect for primary dysmenorrhea patient than Xuanzhong and non-acupoint, and the effects of Xuanzhong and non-acupoit are equivalent.