• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.157-169
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• 2003

Objective : The effects of electroacupuncture(EA) stimulation on heart rate variability(HRV) for healthy adults are investigated with power spectrum analysis(PSA) of HRV. Methods : The HRVs of every 10 minute for 22 healthy volunteers(13 men and 9 women) were measured for an hour with SA-3000P(Medicore Co., Ltd., Korea). The median age with arithmetic range of 13 men and 9 women was 26.00 years with 22.75~27.00 years. The initial 20 minutes were defined as baseline period(pre-EA period), the following 20 minutes as the EA period and the last 20 minutes as the post-EA period. In each EA periods, volunteers received EA(2Hz, 0.6~0.8ms duration, maximal tolerated stimulation without discomfort) on the right Zusanli(ST36), Shangjuxu(ST37) acupoints while supine, resting. Results : Heart rate of volunteers at post-EA period was significantly decreased compare to that of pre-EA period, while SDNN at post-EA period was significantly increased. Heart rate at EA period was significantly decreased compare to that of pre-EA period, but Ln(LF) and LF/HF at EA period were significantly increased. Ln(HF) at post-EA period was significantly decreased compare to that of EA period, while the other variables were not significantly changed. Conclusions : The results suggest that EA in healthy adults is associated with changed activity in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Further study is needed for investigating the effects of EA on HRV and autonomic nervous system.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.283-289
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• 2002

The effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at SP-6 with different durations on the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) and on the cardiovascular system were evaluated in dogs under isoflurane anesthesia. Eight healthy male beagles were randomly assigned to four study groups (n = 5/group) with washout period of 7 days for recovery and anesthetic withdrawal between experiments. Four study groups were control, nonacupoint electrical stimulation (NA), EA for 30 minutes (SP-6) and continuous EA for 70 or 90 minutes (SP-6C). For the nonacupoint electrical stimulation group, needles were inserted into the nonacupoint at the muscle bellies of left triceps brachii and right quadriceps femoris. MAC and cardiovascular parameters were determined after EA at SP-6 acupoint and at nonacupoint. Thirty minutes of EA and continuous EA until re-determination of MAC at SP-6 acupoint lowered the MAC of isoflurane by 21.3$\pm$8.0% and 16.1$\pm$4.6%, respectively (p<0.05). The decrements in MAC values were not significantly different between two EA groups. However, electrical stimulation of nonacupoint did not induce a significant change in MAC. In SP-6 and SP-6C groups, significant changes in cardiovascular parameters were not observed. These results indicate that EA at SP-6 have an advantage in isoflurane anesthesia in terms of reducing the requirement for anesthetics and minimizing cardiovascular side effects. EA for 30 minutes at maximum might be the sufficient time to produce acupuncture analgesia.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.111-122
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• 2002

In oriental medicine, manual-acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA) have been widely utilized to cure several inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. We designed this experiment to find neurochemical mechanism related to electroacupuncture induced anti-inflammatory effect on mouse air pouch model. EA with both low frequency (1 Hz) and high frequency (120 Hz) was treated after induction of inflammation in air pouch using injection of zymosan. To verify the role of opioid system in electroacupuncture-induced anti-inflammatory effect, naloxone (10 mg/kg) was pretreated. In addition, idazoxan (5 mg/kg) was pre-treated to evaluate the possible effect of endogenous adrenergic system in autonomic system on EA induced anti-inflammatory effect. As results of this study, naloxone pretreatment did not change the anti-inflammatory effect evoked by high frequency EA, while low frequency EA(1 Hz) induced anti-inflammatory effect was dramatically suppressed by naloxone pretreatment. These data indicated that endogenous opioid system might be extensively involve in anti-inflammatory effect evoked by not high frequency, but low frequency EA. However, idazoxan pretreatment did not produce any modulatory effect on both low and high frequency EA induced anti-inflammatory effect, suggesting that EA induced anti-inflammatory effect was not mediated by endogenous adrenergic system. In conclusion, these data strongly suggested that EA induced anti-inflammatory effect is mediated by endogenous opioid system, not endogenous adrenergic system.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.193-204
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• 2002

Interstital cystitis(IC) is a disease of the bladder that is characterized by inveterate irritation due to non-specific chronic inflammation. The symptoms of IC are chronic pain, frequency, urgency and sleep deprivation These symptom's are contained to the Lunbing(淋病) in oriental medicine. We observed 4 cases of patient with Interstitial cystitis, the results are as follows. Methods & Results : All patients were treated by the same method. Treatment was performed by means of Hapgokja(合谷刺, The needle arrived to the bladder wall) with electroacupuncture(electric stimulation was 5mA mixed pulse, low frequency 2Hz and high frequency 30Hz, intensity was adjusted to inside the scope where the patients perseveres.) The electrodes were placed CV2 to CV3, both K11, K12. Conclusions : 1. As the result, uses the Hapgokja(合谷刺), with the electroacupuncture, symptoms are remarkably improved and got the satisfactory effect in the treatment. 2. In Hunner's ulcer type, the first treatment was not satisfactory, and second time, after 15 times treatment, there were maintain urgency, 8 times nocturia, 70 percents bladder pain. 3. 3 patients of nonulcer type were treated for 44.8 times(average) and improved started after 5 times treatment. After 2 month's treatment, there were no frequency, no urgency, and remain 1 or 2 nocturia, 30 percents bladder pain.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.49-59
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• 2017

Objectives : This study evaluated the efficacy of electroacupuncture therapy using an insulated needle in adults with abdominal obesity. Methods : This study was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-designed pilot trial. Sixteen participants eligible according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly divided into an insulated needle group and a control group. Insulated or common needles were inserted at acupoints located on the abdomen (CV12, CV6, ST25, ST27, SP15) and were electrically stimulated for 30 minutes (16 Hz, within tolerable strength). A total of 10 sessions of treatment were performed twice per week for 5 weeks. All participants were requested to maintain their usual diet and lifestyle. The outcome measures were waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and abdominal computed tomography (CT) of the total fat area (TFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA), and visceral fat area (VFA). Results : A total of 12 participants divided into the insulated needle group (n = 5) and the control group (n = 7; common needle) were treated for 10 sessions and analyzed per-protocol (PP). WC decreased significantly after 10 sessions in both groups. The WC, TFA, SFA, and VFA of abdominal CT in the insulated needle group decreased more than in the control group; however, there were no significant differences in any parameter between the insulated needle group and the control group. Patients in the insulated needle group were more strongly stimulated with electrical stimulation than patients in the control group. Conclusion : Electroacupuncture using insulated needles in adults with abdominal obesity might be a more effective treatment than common needles. Additional studies are required to compensate for the limitations of this pilot study and to verify the results and efficacy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.145-145
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• 2005

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.245-251
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• 2006

We examined the radioprotection effects of acupoint (acupuncture point) stimulation during organogenesis stages of ICR mice. Pregnant mice received 1.5 Gy whole body X-irradiation on day 8 of gestation, which is the early stage of organogenesis. The embryonic death rate and teratogenesis rate by radiation were examined. Electroacupuncture to the leg acupoints and/ or transcutaneous stimulation to the back acupoints on the pregnant mice showed no protective effect against irradiation on embryonic or fetal death rate. On the contrary, the strong stimulation resulted in increase in the mortality after irradiation rather than protection. However acupoint stimulation to the pregnant mice never showed harmful effects by itself on embryos. It tended to reduce the skeletal malformations induced by X-ray irradiation. We suspect that acupoint stimulation removed the cells injured by irradiation during embryonic development, resulting in an increase in embryonic death rate and reduction in skeletal anomalies.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.132-141
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• 2022

Objectives : Some acupoints are commonly utilized to treat a variety of diseases. The acupoints appear to have a wide range of effects caused by several mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to investigate into the potential role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the multipotent effects of individual acupoint stimulation. Methods : We examined the miRNA expressions in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of neuropathic or inflammatory pain rats following ST36 and GB34 electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation. Neuropathic pain was induced by L5 spinal nerve ligation. Inflammatory pain was induced by knee joint injection of Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). EA was given under gaseous anesthesia with the same parameters (1mA, 2Hz, 30 min) in 5 consecutive days. Pain behaviors and miRNA expressions were analyzed. Results : In rats with neuropathic and inflammatory pain, EA treatments significantly enhanced the paw withdrawal threshold and weight-bearing force. After nerve injury, 36 miRNAs were upregulated in the DRG of neuropathic rats, while EA downregulated 10 of them. Furthermore, 14 miRNAs were downregulated following nerve damage, while one was increased by EA. 15 miRNAs were increased in the DRG of inflammatory rats following CFA injection, while 5 were downregulated by EA. Furthermore, 17 miRNAs were downregulated following CFA injection, while 7 were increased by EA. The miRNAs rno-miR-335, rno-miR-381-5p, rno-miR-1306-3p, and rno-miR-1839-3p were regulated by EA in both models. Conclusions : In two pain models, EA applied to ST36 and GB34 regulated miRNA expression differently. There appeared to be both acupoint-specific and non-specific miRNAs, and miRNA regulation of differential protein expression may modulate a variety of EA mechanisms.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.455-465
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• 2023

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is defined as a chronic inflammatory-mediated disease that causes ulceration and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Among most patients, the course of chronic inflammation repeatedly shows intermittent exacerbations and alternating remissions. However, despite the various therapeutic options to relieve symptoms, such as corticosteroids, TNF-α inhibitors, and antibiotic drugs, there is no known cure for IBD. Nonetheless, previous research has revealed that the autonomic nervous system is involved in the pathophysiology of IBD. In this study, we reviewed clinical trials confirming the therapeutic effect of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on IBD in vivo. We searched in vivo and human studies on Pubmed using keywords combined with "vagus nerve stimulation", "VNS", and "inflammatory bowel disease". All studies included in this review reported that direct VNS is effective in relieving symptoms of IBD and has no severe adverse effects. The most frequently stimulated site was the unilateral cervical vagus nerve area, and parameters for stimulation were set as 5-20 Hz. Based on the results, we aim to summarize the evidence for the efficacy of VNS on IBD and suggest the possibility of auricular electroacupuncture treatment as a therapeutic option for IBD.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.505-510
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• 2013

Electroacupuncture (EA) is a modified form of acupuncture that utilizes electrical stimulation. We previously showed that EA stimulated rats were divided into responders that were sensitive to EA and non-responders that were insensitive to EA based on the tail flick latency (TFL) test. The dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) gene was more abundantly expressed in the hypothalamus of responder rats than non-responder rats. To determine whether overexpression of DBH gene expression in the hypothalamus modulate EA analgesia, we constructed a DBH encoding adenovirus and which was then injected into the hypothalamus of SD rats. Microinjection of DBH or control GFP virus into the hypothalamus had no changes on the basal pain threshold measured by a TFL test without EA treatment. However, the analgesic effect of EA was significantly enhanced from seven days after microinjection of the DBH virus, but not after injection of the control GFP virus. DBH expression was significantly higher in the hypothalamus of DBH virus injected rat than control GFP virus or PBS injected rats. Moreover, expression of the DBH gene did not affect the body core temperature, body weight, motor function or learning and memory ability. Although the functional role of DBH in the hypothalamus in the analgesic effect of EA remains unclear, our findings suggest that expression of the DBH gene in the hypothalamus promotes EA analgesia without obvious side-effects.