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Objective To investigate the impact of warm needling moxibustion on articular cartilage vimentin and the regulating effect on inflammatory factors in rats with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods Forty SD rats (half male and half female) were randomized to normal,model,acupuncture and warm needling moxibustion groups,10 rats each.A rat model of RA was made by intradermal injection of bovine type II collagen for 21-day inoculation inducement.At one day after model making,the warm needling moxibustion group was treated with warm needling moxibustion on points Zusanli,Shenshu and Xuanzhong (manual needling plus suspended moxibustion) and the acupuncture group,with acupuncture alone,for a total of 21 days.In all the rats after the completion of corresponding treatments,knee joint volume was measured by drainage,serum inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-4 contents were determined by radioimmunology and the expression of vimentin in knee joint synovium was examined by immunehistochemical method.Results As compared with the normal group,knee joint swelling was marked,serum inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-4 contents were higher and the expression of vimentin in knee joint synovium increased in the model group of rats.There were statistically significant differences (P＜0.01).As compared with the model group,knee joint swelling improved markedly,inflammatory factor IL-1β content decreased,IL-4 content increased and vimentin expression decreased in the acupuncture and warm needling moxibustion groups of rats.There were statistically significant differences (P＜0.05).As compared with the acupuncture group,knee joint swelling improved more,serum inflammatory factor IL-1β content decreased significantly,IL-4 content increased significantly and the expression of vimentin in knee joint synovium increased in the warm needling moxibustion group of rat.There were statistically significant differences (P＜0.05).Conclusions Warm needling moxibustion can effectively reduce articular inflammatory injury and decrease serum inflammatory factors and the expression of vimentin in knee joint synovium in RA rats.Regulating vimentin may be one of the mechanisms by which warm needling moxibustion reduce RA inflammatory injury.Warm needling moxibustion is more effective than acupuncture in treating RA.
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OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of warm needle moxibustion (WNM) on knee-joint swelling and expression of sirtuin 1 (SIRT 1, a class Ⅲ histone/protein deacetylase) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in synovial tissue in rats with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups:normal control, model, SIRT 1-inhibitor, WNM, and SIRT 1-inhibitor plus WNM (inhibitor+WNM), n=10 rats in each group. The RA model was established by subcutaneous injection of bovine type Ⅱ collagen at the sole, once daily for 21 days. The WNM was applied to bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36), "Shenshu" (BL 23) and "Xuanzhong" (GB 39) for 15 min, once daily for 21 days, beginning on the 1st day of modeling. For rats of SIRT 1-inhibitor group and inhibitor+WNM group, nicotinamide solution (10 mmol·kg-1·d-1) was injected intraperitoneally on the 1st, 7th, 14th and 21th days of modeling. The swelling volume of the affected knee-joint was measured by water drainage method. The contents of IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum were measured by radioimmunoassay. The expression of SIRT 1 and NF-κB p 65 proteins in the synovial tissue of knee-joint were detected by immunoblotting. RESULTS: After modeling, the knee-joint volume, serum IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 contents, and the expression of NF-κB p 65 protein in synovial tissue of knee-joint were considerably increased relevant to the normal control group (P<0.01), while the expression of synovial SIRT 1 protein was significantly down-regulated (P<0.01). Following WNM intervention, the volume of the knee-joint, serum IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 contents and synovial NF-κB p 65 expression were significantly decreased relevant to the model group (P<0.05), and the down-regulated expression of SIRT 1 protein was notably suppressed (P<0.05). No significant difference was found between the WNM and inhibitor+WNM groups in the knee-joint swelling degree (P<0.05). The contents of serum IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8, and the expression of synovial NF-κB p 65 protein of the WNM group were significantly lower than those in the inhibitor+WNM group (P<0.05), while the expression level of SIRT 1 protein was evidently higher than that in the inhibitor+WNM group (P<0.05), suggesting the effects of WNM in down-regulating serum inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB p 65 expression, and in up-regulating SIRT 1 expression after administration of SIRT 1 inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: Warm needle moxibustion can relieve inflammatory reactions of RA rats, which may be associated to its effect in modulating SIRT 1/NF-κB p 65 signaling in the synovial tissue.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical efficacy on pain in postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with the warm acupuncture therapy and discuss its effect mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety cases of postmenopausal osteoporosis were randomized into a warm acupuncture group, an electroacupuncture group and a medication group, 30 cases in each group. In the warm acupuncture group and the electroacupuncture group, Dazhu (BL 11), Shenshu (BL 23) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) were selected bilaterally and stimulated with the warm acupuncture and electroacupuncture therapies respectively, once a day for 30 days totally. In the medication group, caltrate-D tablets were prescribed, 600 mg, once a day for 30 days totally. The changes in the bone density T value, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, serum insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) were observed before and after treatment in the three groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The bone density T value in the patients of postmenopausal osteoporosis did not change obviously after 30 days treatment with the three therapies; (2) VAS score was all reduced after treatment, in which, the result in the warm acupuncture group was the most obvious (6.73 +/- 0.24 before treatment vs 4.43 +/- 0.26 after treatment). The value after treatment in the warm acupuncture group was different significantly as compared with the electroacupuncture group (5.13 +/- 0.31) and the medication group (5.17 +/- 0.33, both P < 0.05). (3) The level of serum IGF-1 was improved after treatment in the warm acupuncture therapy [(119.5 +/- 20.1) ng/mL before treatment vs (156.5 +/- 23.9) ng/mL after treatment], which was more apparent as compared with the electroacupuncture group [(136.3 +/- 24.5) ng/mL] and the medication group [(127.7 +/- 22.1) ng/mL, all P < 0.05]. Concerning to reducing the levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in serum, the results in the warm acupuncture group were superior to the other two groups (all P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The warm acupuncture therapy achieves the significant efficacy on pain in postmenopausal osteoporosis, which could be related to increasing the level of IGF-1, decreasing the levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha, promoting bone formation and inhibting bone absorption.</p>