[Bibliometric analysis on key elements of clinical application of acupoint catgut embedding therapy in recent ten years].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics of acupoint catgut embedding methods, tools, catgut types, and the treatment cycles in the clinical research in recent ten years both at home and abroad, so as to summarize its regularities and to provide technical references for further studies. METHODS: Articles about clinical researches on catgut embedding therapy published in recent ten years (from January 1, 2010 to December 31,2020) were retrieved from the databases of CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and PubMed by using key words of "acupoint embedding" "acupoint catgut embedding" and "catgut implantation at acupoint". According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a new database was established for analyzing the data mentioned above. RESULTS: 1) A total of 1 196 articles were collected, including 15 English articles and 1 181 Chinese articles, presenting a fluctuating increasing trend in recent ten years. 2) The commonly used acupoint embedding methods included disposable catgut embedment needle method (399 times, 38.89%) and disposable syringe needle catgut embedding method (347 times, 33.82%), for which two or multiple methods were mentioned in the same one article. 3) The most frequently used top two tools for catgut embedding were the dispo-sable catgut embedment needle (463 times, 43.03%) and disposable syringe needle (406 times,37.73%), with a significant increase in the application of disposable syringe needle. The most commonly used size of tools included No. 7 (283 times, 39.86%), No. 9 (196 times, 27.61%) and No. 8 (109 times, 15.35%). 4) The most frequently implanted surgical suture was still the common catgut (671 times, 58.15%) despite of a reduction in clinical application year by year, and the types of the implanted suture materials were gradually enriched since 2018, such as the absorbable surgical suture, polyethylprolactide(PGLA), collagen protein thread, polydioxanone(PPDO), etc. The commonly used implanted catgut size was 3-0 (227 times, 30.15%), 2-0 (176 times, 23.37%), 4-0 (131 times, 17.40%), 0 (103 times, 13.68%), with the commonly used catgut length being 1 cm (332 times, 35.55%), 1.5 cm (103 times, 11.03%), 1-2 cm (92 times, 9.85%) and 2 cm (92 times, 9.85%). 5) The intervals of the catgut implantation were 7 days (313 times, 28.95%), 14 days (262 times, 24.24%), 10 days (174 times, 16.10%), and 15 days (162 times, 14.99%). CONCLUSION: In recent ten years, clinical research on acupoint catgut embedding is growing rapidly, and the embedding methods, tools, implanted sutures, and embedding intervals are various, which may provide certain technical references for the future researches and suggest an urgent need of formulation of the standardized and unified standards in this field.

Association between serum albumin and mortality in Japan older people with dysphagia.

To determine whether there is a link between serum albumin and mortality among participants in the elderly in Japan. This is a single-center,retrospective cohort study analysis of 253 old patients with dysphagia from Japan, conducted from January 2014 to January 2017. The primary outcome was mortality. We performed Cox regression analysis to compare the mortality between the two groups (divided by serum albumin = 3 g/dl). 253 patients were included in the analysis, of whom the number of serum albumin under 3 g/dl was 93. The log-rank test showed a significant longer mortality in the high group (serum albumin > = 3 g/dl) compared with the low group (median, 382 vs. 176 days, P < 0.0001). Cox regression analysis showed that unadjusted HR for the high group relative to the low group was 0.40 (95% CI: 0.29-0.57; P < 0.001). After adjusting 3 models in multivariable analysis, serum albumin was significantly associated with mortality. The adjusted HRs (95% CI) for total mortality rates were 0.46 (0.33-0.65), 0.66 (0.44-0.99) and 0.64 (0.42-0.97), from model 2 to model 4. There is negative association between serum albumin and mortality in Japanese old people with dysphagia.

[Observation on time-effect for the stimulating at Zusanli (ST 36) with minimally invasive embedding with PGLA in the healthy person].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the objectivity and time-effect of stimulating effect at acupoint with PGLA in the healthy person, and to provide a basis for the rational interval of minimally invasive embedding of PGLA. METHODS: Before embedding, 8 h, 3rd, 7th, 10th, 14th day after embedding, medical imaging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning technique was used to collect local T2WI pressure-lowering and T2-Mapping 8 echoes sequence image of left Zusanli (ST 36) in 8 cases of healthy person. The T2-Mapping 8 echoes sequence image was generated by the relevant software to the T2-Mapping image and the local T2 value was measured. The characteristics of local T2WI pressure-fat image signal intensity and the change of T2 value at left Zusanli (ST 36) with minimally invasive embedding with PGLA were observed and analyzed. RESULTS: ①There was no abnormal signal on the T2WI pressure-fat image on the left Zusanli (ST 36) point before the embedding. The high-signal was seen on the local T2WI pressure-fat image at each time point after embedding, there was no significant difference in local signal intensity between 8 h, 3rd and 7th day after embedding. The local signal intensity decreased on the 10th day after embedding, and the local signal intensity decreased significantly on the 14th day after embedding.②The T2 value at each time point after embedding increased significantly compared with that before embedding (all P<0.01); there was no significant difference in T2 value among the 8 h, 3rd and 7th day after embedding (all P>0.05); there was no significant difference between the T2 value on the 7th and the 10th day after embedding (P>0.05)，the T2 value on the 14th day after embedding was significantly lower than that on the 7th day after embedding (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: It has a stimulating effect on the local acupoints with minimally invasive embedding with PGLA in the healthy person, and the stimulating effect has certain time-effect. The effective stimulation time is about 2 weeks. The rational interval period for the minimally invasive embedding with the PGLA of the same specification type should be about 2 weeks.

A Study on the Effect of Neurogenesis and Regulation of GSK3ß/PP2A Expression in Acupuncture Treatment of Neural Functional Damage Caused by Focal Ischemia in MCAO Rats.

170 SD rats were randomly divided to five groups. Rats in model group, no-acupuncture group, and acupuncture group were subjected to MCAO surgery. Acupuncture group received 3 consecutive acupuncture treatments at a parameter that deep in 2 mm towards apex nasi and thrust/lifted at 3 times per second for 1 minute, while model group and no-acupuncture group were no-intervention control groups. Serious neural functional damage and sharp decrease of cerebral blood flow, obvious infarction volume, increased nestin mRNA expression, and immunopositive cells population (nestin(+), BrdU(+) and nestin/BrdU(+)) were found in MCAO rats which had not been observed in normal group and sham-operated group. However, the damage was attenuated by rat's "self-healing" capacity 3 days after MCAO. And the "self-healing" capacity can be strengthen by acupuncture treatment through increasing cerebral blood flow, neurogenesis, and regulation of gene transcription or GSK-3ß and PP2A expression. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the underlying mechanism of acupuncture treatment on neural functional damage caused by focal ischemia injury is a multiple interaction which may involve improved cerebral blood supply, neurogenesis, and regulation of gene transcription or GSK-3ß and PP2A expression in MCAO rats.