Effect of Acupuncture plus Medication on Serum 5-HT, CGRP and ET in IBS-D / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the efficacy of acupuncture plus medication in treating diarrhea-irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) due to liver depression and spleen deficiency, and its effect on serum 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and endothelin (ET). Method Sixty IBS-D (liver depression and spleen deficiency) were recruited and randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases each. Patients in the observation group were intervened by acupuncture plus modified Bai Zhu Shao Yao powder, while the control group was intervened by acupuncture alone. The total effective rate, change of syndrome score of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and diarrhea-irritable bowel syndrome quality of life scale (IBS-QOL), as well as the levels of serum 5-HT, CGRP and ET, were observed. Result The total effective rate was 83.3% in the observation group, significantlyhigher than 63.3% in the control group (P0.05). The global and component TCM symptoms scores and IBS-QOL dropped significantly in both groups after the intervention (P0.05) before the treatment. The levels of 5-HT, CGRP and ET decreased significantly after the treatment in both groups (P<0.05); after the intervention, the levels of 5-HT, CGRP and ET in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture plus medication can effectively mitigate the symptoms in IBS-D (liver depression and spleen deficiency) and enhance the quality of life, which is possibly achieved by down-regulating the serum 5-HT, CGRP and ET levels.