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submissions to | Home > Newsletters > February 2010 > Recent Research | |
Points - Recent Research |
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Acupuncture Suppresses Morphine Self-Administration Through the GABA Receptors |
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Inhibitory Effects of Kampo Medicine on Human UGT2B7 Activity |
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Gene Expression Profile of Patients with Phadiatop-Positive and -Negative Allergic Rhinitis Treated with Acupuncture |
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Acupuncture Suppresses Morphine Self-Administration Through the GABA Receptors Yoon SS, et al. Department of Physiology, College of Oriental Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Daegu 706-828, South Korea. The neurobiological substrate for morphine self-administration in animals is believed to involve the dopamine system of the nucleus accumbens. Our previous study has shown that acupuncture at the acupoint Shenmen (HT7) reduced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and behavioral hyperactivity induced by systemic administration of morphine. Here we investigated the effect of acupuncture on morphine self-administration and potential roles of GABA receptors in the mechanisms behind acupuncture. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to self-administer morphine (0.1mg/kg per infusion) during daily 1-h session under fixed-ratio 1 schedule. Following the stable responding on morphine self-administration, acupuncture was applied to HT7 points bilaterally (1min) prior to the testing session. Another groups of rats were given the GABA(B) receptor antagonist SCH 50911 (3.0mg/kg, i.p.), the GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline (1.0mg/kg, i.p.) or saline 30min prior to the acupuncture treatment. We have found that acupuncture at the acupoint HT7, but not at the control point Yangxi (LI5), significantly decreased morphine self-administration. Moreover, either SCH 50911 or bicuculline blocked the inhibitory effects of acupuncture on morphine self-administration. Taken together, the current results suggest that acupuncture at specific HT7 points regulates the reinforcing effects of morphine via regulation of GABA receptors. Brain Res Bull. 2010 Jan 4.
Source: PubMed Inhibitory Effects of Kampo Medicine on Human UGT2B7
Activity Nakagawa N, et al. Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, Division
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192,
Japan.
Kampo medicine is traditional Japanese medicine modified from the Chinese original. Kampo medicine is a
mixture of several medicinal herbs and includes many ingredients such as glycosides. Glycosides are
hydrolyzed to aglycons by intestinal bacterial flora and absorbed into the body. Aglycons such as baicalein
and glycyrrhetinic acid can be conjugated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) in human liver or small
intestine. UGT2B7 is one of the major isoforms responsible for drug conjugation including morphine 3- and
3'- azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) glucuronidation. The present study investigates the effects of 51 Kampo
medicines, 14 medicinal herbs and 11 ingredients on UGT2B7 activity in human liver microsomes. Morphine
3-glucuronidation was inhibited by more than 50% by 9 of 51 Kampo medicines such as Ryo-kei-jutsu-kan-to.
AZT glucuronidation was inhibited by more than 50% by 24 of 51 Kampo medicines such as Jumi-haidoku-to.
Medicinal herbs such as Daio (Rhei Rhizoma), Kanzo (Glycyrrhizae Radix) and Keihi (Cinnamomi Cortex)
exhibited more than 80% inhibition on both glucuronidations. The major ingredients of these medicinal herbs
inhibited UGT2B7 activity with low K(i). Kampo medicines were found to inhibit the UGT2B7 activity and may
cause drug interactions via the inhibition of UGT. Drug Metab Pharmacokinet. 2009;24(6):490-9.
Source: PubMed/font> Gene Expression Profile of Patients with
Phadiatop-Positive and -Negative Allergic Rhinitis Treated with Acupuncture Shiue HS, et al. 1 Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang
Gung University College of Medicine , Taoyuan, Taiwan . Abstract Background: We assessed the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in patients with
perennial allergic rhinitis. Acupuncture therapy corrects the equilibrium deviation using the bidirectional
regulative actions in treating syndromes by inserting needles into acupoints. Objectives: We studied the
clinical outcomes and gene expression profiles of Phadiatop (Ph)-positive (+) and -negative (-) allergic
rhinitis patients who were treated with acupuncture. Methods: Twenty-one (21) patients with allergic
rhinitis [13 Ph(+), 8 Ph(-)] received 8 courses of acupuncture treatment over 4 weeks. Blood samples of
the patients were collected during the course of acupuncture for global analysis of gene expression
profiles by Affymetrix human U133A chips. Patients completed the rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life
questionnaire (RQLQ) before and after the therapy to objectively measure the therapeutic effect of
acupuncture. The gene expression profile in patients with Ph(+) and Ph(-) allergic rhinitis treated
before and after acupuncture was analyzed by unsupervised and supervised clustering methods. Results:
The results of the RQLQ and the gene expression profiles were different between the Ph(+) and Ph(-)
groups after receiving treatment with acupuncture. Activity, practical problems, and nasal symptoms
showed significant improvement in the Ph(+) group versus the Ph(-) group. In addition, genes involved in
active immune response, differential of Treg and cell apoptosis, were different in the Ph(+) and Ph(-)
groups after acupuncture treatment. Conclusions: Differential gene expression profiles of patients with
Ph(+) and Ph(-) allergic rhinitis indicate the distinct physiologic responses after receiving
acupuncture treatment in these two groups. Our results suggest that personalized medical treatment
should be essential for acupuncture treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis. J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Jan 13.
Source: PubMed |
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