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Points - Recent Research

Observation on Therapeutic Effect of Blood-letting Therapy on Apoplectic Hemiplegia Numbness Syndrome

Acupuncture for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

Uncaria rhynchophylla has Potent Antiaggregation Effects on Alzheimer's Beta-amyloid Proteins

Observation on Therapeutic Effect of Blood-letting Therapy on Apoplectic Hemiplegia Numbness Syndrome

Liu H, et al. Shanxi Provincial Fenyang Hospital, Shanxi Fenyang 032200, China. sxfylzj@sohu.com

OBJECTIVE: To observe therapeutic effect of blood-letting therapy on apoplectic hemiplegia numbness syndrome and search for clinically effective therapy. METHODS: Ninety and five cases of apoplectic hemiplegia were randomly divided into a treatment group of 55 cases and a control group of 40 cases in order of visiting. The treatment group were treated with tapping Huatuo Jiaji (EX-B2) on the back by plum-blossom needle combined with blood-letting on twelve Well-points or Shixuan (EX-UE 11), once every day, 6 times constituting one course; the control group were treated with routine acupuncture at points of the four limbs, once daily, 12 times constituting one course. After they were treated for 4 courses, their therapeutic effects were observed. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 94.5% in the treatment group and 77.5% in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Blood-letting therapy is an effective therapy for post-apoplectic hemiplegia numbness syndrome.

Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2006 May;26(5):337-8.

Source PubMed

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Acupuncture for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

Takahashi T., Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Functional gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in the general population. Especially, motor dysfunction of the GI tract and visceral hypersensitivity are important. Acupuncture has been used to treat GI symptoms in China for thousands of years. It is conceivable that acupuncture may be effective in patients with functional GI disorders because it has been shown to alter acid secretion, GI motility, and visceral pain. Acupuncture at the lower limbs (ST-36) causes muscle contractions via the somatoparasympathetic pathway, while at the upper abdomen (CV-12) it causes muscle relaxation via the somatosympathetic pathway. In some patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional dyspepsia (FD), peristalsis and gastric motility are impaired. The stimulatory effects of acupuncture at ST-36 on GI motility may be beneficial to patients with GERD or FD, as well as to those with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), who show delayed colonic transit. In contrast, the inhibitory effects of acupuncture at CV-12 on GI motility may be beneficial to patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS, because enhanced colonic motility and accelerated colonic transit are reported in such patients. Acupuncture at CV-12 may inhibit gastric acid secretion via the somatosympathetic pathway. Thus, acupuncture may be beneficial to GERD patients. The antiemetic effects of acupuncture at PC-6 (wrist) may be beneficial to patients with FD, whereas the antinociceptive effects of acupuncture at PC-6 and ST-36 may be beneficial to patients with visceral hypersensitivity. In the future, it is expected that acupuncture will be used in the treatment of patients with functional GI disorders.

J Gastroenterol. 2006 May;41(5):408-17.

Source: PubMed

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Uncaria rhynchophylla has Potent Antiaggregation Effects on Alzheimer's Beta-amyloid Proteins

Fujiwara H, et al. Department of Geriatric and Complementary Medicine, Center for Asian Traditional Medicine Research, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan.

Because the deposition of beta-amyloid protein (Abeta) is a consistent pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, inhibition of Abeta generation, prevention of Abeta fibril formation, or destabilization of preformed Abeta fibrils would be attractive therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AD. We examined the effects of several medicinal herbs used in traditional Chinese medical formulae on the formation and destabilization of Abeta fibrils by using the thioflavin T binding assay, atomic force microscopic imaging, and electrophoresis. Our study demonstrates that several of these herbs have potent inhibitory effects on fibril formation of both Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42) in concentration-dependent manners; in particular, Uncaria rhynchophylla inhibited Abeta aggregation most intensively. Significant destabilization of preformed Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42) fibrils was also induced by Uncaria rhynchophylla as well as some other herb extracts. Three-dimensional HPLC analysis indicated that the water extract of this herb contains several different chemical compounds, including oxindole and indol alkaloids, which have been regarded as neuroprotective. Our results suggest that Uncaria rhynchophylla has remarkably inhibitory effects on the regulation of Abeta fibrils, and we conclude that this medicinal herb could have the potency to be a novel therapeutic agent to prevent and/or cure AD. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

J Neurosci Res. 2006 May 4; [Epub ahead of print]

Source: PubMed

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July 2006
Volume 4, Number 7

Healthy Eating Under the Sun

Different Strokes in the East and the West

St. Vincent Hospital Provides Acupuncture to Rehab Patients

Recent Research

Ask The Doctor

Abundant Energy Digestion Formula

Promotes a Strong and Healthy Digestion System

High Performance

An Energy 'Chi' Formula for Optimal Operation of the Body

Five Elements Health Formula

A Whole Body Tune-Up

The Tao of Nutrition
By Maoshing Ni

The Path to Good Nutrition
and Health

Self-Healing Chi Gong

Strengthen & Balance the Mind and Body