[Effect of bee venom injection on TrkA and TRPV1 expression in the dorsal root ganglion of rats with collagen-induced arthritis].

Nan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. 2016 Jun;36(6):838-41

Authors: Xian PF, Chen Y, Yang L, Liu GT, Peng P, Wang SX

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effect of acupoint injection of bee venom on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats and explore the mechanism of bee venom therapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
METHODS: Fifteen male Wistar rats were randomly divided into bee venom treatment group (BV group), CIA model group, and control group. In the former two groups, CIA was induced by injections of collagen II+IFA (0.2 mL) via the tail vein, and in the control group, normal saline was injected instead. The rats in BV group received daily injection of 0.1 mL (3 mg/mL) bee venom for 7 consecutive days. All the rats were assessed for paw thickness and arthritis index from days 14 to 21, and the pain threshold was determined on day 21. The expressions of TRPV1 and TrkA in the dorsal root ganglion at the level of L4-6 were detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting, respectively.
RESULTS: The rats in CIA model group started to show paw swelling on day 10, and by day 14, all the rats in this group showed typical signs of CIA. In BV group, the rats receiving been venom therapy for 7 days showed a significantly smaller paw thickness and a low arthritis index than those in the model group. The pain threshold was the highest in the control group and the lowest in the model group. TRPV1-positive cells and TrkA expression in the dorsal root ganglion was significantly reduced in BV group as compared with that in the model group.
CONCLUSION: s Injection of bee venom can decrease expression of TRPV1 and TrkA in the dorsal root ganglion to produce anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, suggesting the potential value of bee venom in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

PMID: 27320889 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[The value of lidocaine through different routes of administration in the treatment of tinnitus: a Meta-analysis].

Lin Chung Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2016 Jan;30(2):101-5

Authors: Li H, Li M, Zhang J, Li X, Tan J, Ji B

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of lidocain in the treatment of tinnitus through three routes of administration (intravenous, intratympanic and acupoint injection) by analyzing literatures.
METHOD: Articles were collected through Hownet, Wanfang, VIP, Pubmed, SciVerse ScienceDirect, Springer and OVID, etc. The articles were strictly evaluated based on their quality. The Meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the outcomes by RevMan 5. 2 software.
RESULT: A total of 16 articles with 1203 patients were enrolled in the analysis. Their tinnitus history ranged from 7 hours to 20 years. Assessment methods include tinnitus loudness levels, severity scales and subjective feelings. None of articles refer to maintaining time, instead of "short-term", "short" and so on. A total of 133 cases received intravenous injection and the effective rate was 73.4% (98 cases). 50 cases and 332 cases received intratympanic and acupoint injection respectively and their effective rates were 74.0% and 87.7%, respectively. The effective rate ranged from 42.4% to 58.3% in control group. Meta-analysis results indicate that all three routes of lidocaine administrations are more effective than conventional methods (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Different routes of lidocaine administration have a good but short time effects on the tinnitus control. It can effectively reduce the time of tinnitus habituation as a complementary treatment. But its value still needs further evaluation.

PMID: 27192902 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Effect of Subcutaneous Injection of Lidocaine in Zusanli (ST 36) and Jiaji (EX-B 2) Regions on Immune Function in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy].

Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2016 Feb;41(1):74-9

Authors: Meng XL, Qu Q

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupoint injection of Lidocaine on serum IL-1β, TNF-α and T-lymphocyte subset activities in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying relieving postoperative pain and potentiating rehabilitation.
METHODS: Eighty patients scheduled for elective LC surgery (grade I or II, according to American Standards of Association, ASA) were randomly divided into four groups, namely intravenous analgesia (IVA) , right forearm-injection (forearm-), Jiaji (EX-B 2, Thorax 8)-injection (EX-B 2-1), and Zusanli-injection (ST 36-1), with 20 patients in each group. The conventional anesthetic induction and maintenance with Penehyclidine Hydrochloride, Midazolam, Sulfentanil, Propofol, Atracurium Besilate, and Remifentanil were same in all the 4 groups. For patients of the forearm-I, EX-B 2-I and ST 36-1 groups, 5% Lidocaine was injected into the subcutaneous layer of the anterior side of right forearm near the elbow, EX-B 2 and ST 36 regions, respectively. Analgesia pump (filled with Sulfentanil, Ramosetron + normal saline) was connected af- ter the tracheal extubation. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the patient's pain reaction after tracheal extubation (T 1), and 6 h (T 2), 24 h (T 3) and 48.h (T 4) after surgery. The times of RCA pressing and the total dose of Sufentanil in the process of postoperative analgesia were recorded as well. The contents of serum IL-1β and TNF-α were analyzed by ELISA, and the counts of CD4+ and CD+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry.
RESULTS: Compared with T 1 in the same one group, the VAS scores at time-points of T 2, T 3 and T 4 after surgery of all the IVA, forearm-1, ST 36- and EX-B 2- groups were reduced significaantly (P < 0.05). The times of PCA-pump pressing and the doses of the administrated Sufentanil were considerably lower in the ST 36-1 and EX-B 2-I groups than in the IVA and forearm-I groups (P < 0.05). In comparison with pre-anesthesia in the same one group, serum TNF-α and IL-1β contents at T 1 were remarkably increased, while the ratios of CD⁴⁺/CD⁸⁺ at T 4 in the 4 groups were evidently down-regulated (P < 0.05). The contents of serum TNF-α and IL-1β at T 3 and T 4 were obviously lower in both ST 36-1 and EX-B 2-1 groups than in the IVA and forearm-I groups (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found among the 4 groups in the VAS scores at the 4 time-points, in the serum TNF-α and IL-1β contents at T 0 and T 1, in the counts of CD⁴⁺ and CD⁸⁺ T cells and ratios of CD⁴⁺/CD⁸⁺ at T 0, T 3 and T 4, and between the ST 36-1 and EX-B 2-groups in all the 8 indexes (P > 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Acupoint injection of Lidocaine is effective in relieving pain in LC patients, which is demonstrated by reducing VAS score, PCA pump pressing times, and administrated Sufentanil dose, and may be associated with its effects in down-regulating serum TNF-α and IL-1β contents.

PMID: 27141626 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles

Acupoint injection of onabotulinumtoxin A for migraines.

Toxins (Basel). 2015 Oct 30;7(11):4442-54

Authors: Hou M, Xie JF, Kong XP, Zhang Y, Shao YF, Wang C, Ren WT, Cui GF, Xin L, Hou YP

Abstract
Onabotulinumtoxin A (BoNTA) has been reported to be effective in the therapy for migraines. Acupuncture has been used worldwide for the treatment of migraine attacks. Injection of a small amount of drug at acupuncture points is an innovation as compared to traditional acupuncture. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of fixed (muscle)-site and acupoint-site injections of BoNTA for migraine therapy in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial extending over four months. Subjects with both episodic and chronic migraines respectively received a placebo (n = 19) or BoNTA (2.5 U each site, 25 U per subject) injection at fixed-sites (n = 41) including occipitofrontalis, corrugator supercilii, temporalis and trapeziue, or at acupoint-sites (n = 42) including Yintang (EX-HN3), Taiyang (EX-HN5), Baihui (GV20), Shuaigu (GB8), Fengchi (GB20) and Tianzhu (BL10). The variations between baseline and BoNTA post-injection for four months were calculated monthly as outcome measures. BoNTA injections at fixed-sites and acupoint-sites significantly reduced the migraine attack frequency, intensity, duration and associated symptoms for four months compared with placebo (p < 0.01). The efficacy of BoNTA for migraines in the acupoint-site group (93% improvement) was more significant than that in the fixed-site group (85% improvement) (p < 0.01). BoNTA administration for migraines is effective, and at acupoint-sites shows more efficacy than at fixed-sites. Further blinded studies are necessary to establish the efficacy of a low dose toxin (25 U) introduced with this methodology in chronic and episodic migraines.

PMID: 26529014 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles

Outbreak of extrapulmonary tuberculosis infection associated with acupuncture point injection.

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Apr;21(4):349-53

Authors: Jia Z, Chen S, Hao C, Huang Y, Liu Z, Pan A, Liao R, Wang X, Lu Z

Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is rarely reported to be associated with acupuncture practices. We performed a retrospective outbreak investigation of a unique outbreak of 33 extrapulmonary M. tuberculosis infections related to acupuncture point injection therapy (AIT) among clients who visited a private traditional Chinese medicine clinical centre in China. The lumps, abscesses and ulcers occurred mostly on the neck, shoulders, waist, knees and hips, localized at acupuncture point meridian sites. These symptoms appeared from January to November 2011, with a peak cluster of infections in September 2011 (nine cases). M. tuberculosis Beijing strain was isolated and confirmed by DNA sequencing. All diagnosed patients were treated empirically with appropriate antibiotic treatment, and their condition improved. Our study indicated that this outbreak was most likely resulted from contaminated AIT. Drafting standard guidelines for AIT is urgently needed, and routine medical supervision should be provided, including obligating health providers to perform routine physical examinations that include testing for infectious diseases.

PMID: 25677256 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]