Acupuncture plus moxibustion is an effective treatment for Crohn’s disease

Acupuncture plus moxibustion significantly improved the symptoms and quality of life of patients with Crohn’s disease according to a report published in the journal World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Researchers in China conducted a randomized controlled clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture plus moxibustion for the treatment of active Crohn’s disease. Ninety-two patients were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in group 1 were treated at acupoints ST36, ST37, SP4, SP6, KI3 and LV3; plus herb moxibustion applied at acupoint CV6, CV12 and ST25. Patients in group 2 were treated at placebo acupoints and sham moxibustion. Acupuncture treatment was 30 min/session, three times a week for 12 weeks. Crohn’s disease active index (ADAI), haemoglobin, quality of life and indicators of intestinal inflammation such as C-reactive protein were evaluated before, after and 12-week follow up.

It was found that although acupuncture group and control group showed significant improvement in ADAI scores compared with baseline, the improvement was markedly greater in acupuncture group and maintained in follow-up evaluation. Further, biochemical studies showed a reduced intestinal inflammation and increased in haemoglobin in acupuncture group compared with control group.

The study demonstrated efficacy of acupuncture plus moxibustion for the Crohn’s disease.

Reference:

Bao CH et al., Randomized controlled trial: Moxibustion and acupuncture for the treatment of Crohn's disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Aug 21;20(31):11000-11.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25152604

Acupuncture holds promise for inflammatory disorder treatment

A recent study, by Dr. Ulloa and colleagues of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, published by the journal Nature Medicine (only research works of the highest quality got published there) reported that electroacupuncture may reduce inflammation that causes sepsis death. Sepsis, a condition that often develops in hospital intensive care units, is characterised by overwhelming inflammatory responses and infections. Although antibiotics are efficient in controlling infection, inflammation is not properly treated in sepsis. Sepsis causes the death of over 250,000 patients each year in the United States.

The study carried out on sepsis model showed that signals of electroacupuncture stimulation at Zusanli (ST36) passed through sciatic nerve to vagal nerve, then to adrenal glands. Electroacupuncture markedly increased the levels of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, a lyase enzyme, catalyzing levodopa to dopamine. Dopamine acts on dopamine D1 receptors to inhibit pro-inflammatory multiple cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor, reducing inflammation. The authors found that when electroacupuncture was applied to mice with sepsis, cytokines were reduced in the serum and half of mice survived for at least 7 days. No survival was found among mice that did not receive acupuncture. 

  

This study demonstrated one of strongest scientific evidence of acupuncture‘s value beyond any that has been shown before. The study also confirmed results of other reports that acupuncture is effective at modulating immune system and inhibit inflammatory response. These benefit not just for sepsis, but for treating other inflammatory-related disorders such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

Reference:

Torres-Rosas R et al., Dopamine mediates vagal modulation of the immune system by electroacupuncture. Nat Med. 2014 Mar;20(3):291-5. doi: 10.1038/nm.3479.   http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v20/n3/full/nm.3479.html

Acupuncture and moxibustion reversed pathological changes in Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, which can affect the whole of the digestive tract from mouth to anus. Inflammation extends to all layers of gut wall and often in patch surrounded by healthy tissue. The most commonly affected sites are the lower part of the small intestine and the first part of the large intestine. Symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, chronic diarrhea and loss of appetite.  Symptoms can come and go and vary depending on which part or parts of gut are affected. Crohn’s disease often develops between the ages of 20 and 40, although it can occur in children and old adults. Malnutrition and dehydration are common complications of Crohn’s. The cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown though it is believed that the immune system, genetics, infection and environmental factor all contribute to its development. There is no cure for Crohn’s disease. Medication and diet only help control the condition and sometime bring about long-term remission.

Acupuncture is increasingly used to treat Crohn’s disease in western countries. It effectively treats patients with Crohn’s disease by alleviating visceral pain, improve diarrhea and appetite. How does acupuncture improve Crohn’s disease is not well understood until recent reports. The basic research study on Crohn’s disease model reported that acupuncture and moxibustion specifically regulated the expression of the genes and proteins involved in Crohn’s pathological process such as fibrosis. The proteins and genes e.g. Ras, Raf-1, MEK-1, and ERK-1/2 were significantly increased in the fibrosis gut tissues of Crohn’s model. Acupuncture and moxibustion reversed the process of fibrosis and markedly decreased the elevated levels of those proteins and genes. The study suggests that acupuncture and moxibustion exert the therapeutic effect by specifically regulating molecular and cellular molecules to reverse the pathological changes in Crohn’s disease model.

Reference:

Wang X et al., Moxibustion Inhibits the ERK Signaling Pathway and Intestinal Fibrosis in Rats with Crohn's Disease. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:198282. doi: 10.1155/2013/198282.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23970928