The electrophysiological response of chorda tympani nerve to taste stimuli in rats with conditioned taste aversion to saltiness / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the characteristic changes of the peripheral chorda tympanic nerve (CT) electrophysiological responses to salty stimulus and other taste stimuli in rats with the conditioned taste aversion to saltiness.@*METHODS@#Fourteen adult SD male rats were divided into a conditioned taste aversion to salty group (CTA) and a control group (Ctrl) (n=7/group). On the first day of the experiment, rats were given a 0.1 mol/L NaCl intake for 30 min, then, the rats in CTA and Ctrl groups were injected intraperitoneally with 2 ml of 0.15 mol/L LiCl and the same amount of saline respectively. On day 2, 3 and 4, the 30 min consumption of NaCl and distilled water was measured for both groups of rats. On the 4th day after the behavioral test of that day, CT electrophysiological recording experiments were performed on CTA rats and control rats.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the rats in Ctrl group, the electrophysiological characteristics of CT in CTA group rats did not change significantly the responses to the series of NaCl and other four basic taste stimuli (P＞0.05). The amiloride, the epithelial sodium channel blocker, strongly inhibited the response of CT to NaCl in CTA and Ctrl group rats (P＜0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#The electrophysiological responses of CT to various gustatory stimuli do not significantly change in rats after the establishment of conditional taste aversion to the saltiness.

Comparative study of heat-sensitive moxibustion in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To verify the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive moxibustion in treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty cases of KOA were randomly divided into a heat-sensitive moxibustion group and a conventional moxibustion group, 30 cases in each one. Dubi (ST 35), Yanglingquan (GB 34), Zusanli (ST 36) and Heding (EX-LE 2) on the affected side were selected in two groups. In heat-sensitive moxibustion group, the techniques of circling moxibustion, sparrow-pecking moxibustion, moving moxibustion and mild moxibustion were applied. In conventional moxibustion group, the mild moxibustion was used, 2 to 3 cm far from the skin of the acupoints selected. Lysholm scale for the assessment of knee joint function was adopted to evaluate the efficacy. The scores of joint pain, morning stiffness, joint swelling and walking ability were compared before and after treatment in two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The scores of joint pain, morning stiffness, joint swelling and walking ability after treatment were all apparently improved as compared with those before treatment in either group (all P < 0.05). The improvement in the above-mentioned indices in heat-sensitive moxibustion group was much more apparent as compared with that in conventional moxibustion group (all P < 0.01). The effective rate was 90.0% (27/30) in heat-sensitive moxibustion group and was 73.3% (22/30) in conventional moxibustion group. The effective rate in heat-sensitive moxibustion group was obviously superior to that in conventional moxibustion group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The efficacy of heat-sensitive moxibustion is superior to that of conventional moxibustion in the treatment of KOA. This therapy can more significantly improve the symptoms and physical signs of the patients with KOA.</p>