The role and mechanism of 5-HTDRN-BNST neural circuit in anxiety and fear lesions.

Central 5-hydroxytryptaminergic dorsal raphe nucleus (5-HTDRN)-bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) neural circuit dysfunction is one of the important neurobiological basis of anxiety and fear disorders. Under stress, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neurons act on BNST receptors to attenuate anxiety and fear responses or enhance anxiety and fear. In BNST, corticotropin releasing factor neurons play a role in regulating emotions by reversely regulating excitatory or inhibitory 5-HT neurons. The composition of 5-HTDRN-BNST neural circuit, the pathological changes of 5-HTDRN-BNST neural circuit function damage under stress, and the effects of 5-HTDRN-BNST neural circuit on anxiety disorder, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder were analyzed and are summarized in this paper. The characteristics of functional changes of the neural circuit and its effects on brain functional activities provide a basis and ideas for the treatment of anxiety and fear disorders through the regulation of 5-HTDRN-BNST neural circuit, and they also provide a new perspective for understanding the pathological mechanism of such diseases.

[Adjuvant therapy of Wentong acupuncture for elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of Wentong acupuncture on bone mineral density (BMD), bone metabolism and intestinal function in elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction. METHODS: A total of 128 elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 64 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of vitamin D calcium chewable tablets (0.6 g, once a day) and calcitriol capsules (0.25 µg, three times a day); the treatment was given for 6 months. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, patients in the observation group were additionally treated with Wentong acupuncture at Shenshu (BL 23), Mingmen (GV 4), Pishu (BL 20), Dachangshu (BL 25), Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST 36), etc. for 30 min each time, once a day. After 1-week treatment, the patients took a rest for 2 days; the treatment was given for 6 months. Before and after treatment, the BMD of lumbar spine, femoral neck and femoral trochanter was detected by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and the serum levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (NBAP), osteocalcin (OC), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and calcitonin (CT) were detected by ELISA method. The primary symptom scores of intestinal function, serum diamine oxidase (DAO) and D-lactic acid (D-Lac) levels were compared between the two groups before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 85.9% (55/64) in the observation group, which was higher than 71.9% (46/64) in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, BMD were increased (P<0.05), and serum bone metabolism indexes were improved in the two groups (P<0.05); the BMD and serum bone metabolism indexes in the observation group were better than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the primary symptom scores of intestinal function, serum DAO and D-Lac levels in the observation group were decreased (P<0.05), and the indexes in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The adjuvant therapy of Wentong acupuncture could increase BMD, improve bone metabolism and regulate intestinal function in elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction.

[Effect of Warm Acupuncture on the Levels of Serum Immunoglobulin E, Interleukin-1 ß and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Rats with Allergic Rhinitis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of warm acupuncture on behavior and contents of serum immunoglobulin E(IgE), interleukin-1 ß(IL-1 ß) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in allergic rhinitis(AR) rats, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improving AR. METHODS: Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group, model group, medication group and warm acupuncture group(10 rats/group). The AR model was established by intraperitoneal injection of sensitization and nasal drip. The rats in the medication group were given fluticasone propionate nasal spray, daily for 10 days. Warm acupuncture was applied to "Fengchi"(GB 20), "Yintang"(GV 29), "Yingxiang"(LI 20) for 60 seconds, once daily for 10 days. Behavioral scores were used to evaluate behavioral changes in rats. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the expression levels of serum IgE, IL-1 ß and TNF-α. RESULTS: Behavioral scores of the model group were significantly higher than those of the control group 0, 3, 7 and 10 days after modeling (P<0.05). After treatment, the behavioral scores of medication group and the warm acupuncture group were lower than those of the model group (P<0.05), and the score was more lower in the warm acupuncture group than in the medication group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of serum IgE, IL-1 ß and TNF-α in the model group were all increased (P<0.01), while the levels of serum IgE, IL-1 ß and TNF-α were decreased in the medication and warm acupuncture groups after treatment in comparison with the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the medication group, the levels of serum IgE, IL-1 ß and TNF-α were significantly lower in the warm acupuncture group (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The expression levels of IgE, IL-1 ß and TNF-α were elevated in serum after AR attack. Warm acupuncture can improve the symptoms of AR rats, which may be associated to its effect in inhibiting the expression of serum IgE, IL-1 ß and TNF-α.