Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-11-21DOI: 10.1177/09645284241300176
Joaquín Páez-Rodríguez, Ismael Olivo-Ruiz, Carlos Romero-Morales, Blanca De-la-Cruz-Torres
{"title":"The fascicular anatomy of the sciatic nerve may not influence the muscular activity of the biceps femoris after applying percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: a randomized clinical trial.","authors":"Joaquín Páez-Rodríguez, Ismael Olivo-Ruiz, Carlos Romero-Morales, Blanca De-la-Cruz-Torres","doi":"10.1177/09645284241300176","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241300176","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Electrical nerve stimulation is an effective therapeutic tool in the field of rehabilitation for the management of musculoskeletal conditions.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To analyze the muscle activity of the short head of the biceps femoris (SHBF) and long head of the biceps femoris (LHBF) after the application of percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to the common fibular versus tibial nerve compartment of the sciatic nerve.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-eight healthy subjects received electrical stimulation (asymmetric biphasic rectangular waveforms) through a needle in the sciatic nerve. The sample was divided into two groups in which the technique was applied to the lateral compartment versus medial compartment of the nerve, respectively. The protocol used included 5 s of stimulation at a frequency of 100 Hz and a phase duration of 350 ms, followed by 55 s of rest, for 5 min. The electrical activity of the SHBF and LHBF and the muscle strength of the knee flexors was assessed by surface electromyography during isometric knee flexion in the prone position.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Neither group showed significant changes (p > 0.05) in any variable after the intervention compared with baseline values. Similarly, there were no significant differences in any of the study variables when comparing both groups (p > 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Selective stimulation of the sciatic nerve by percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation had no measurable effects on muscle activity in the SHBF or LHBF, regardless of the approach applied.</p><p><strong>Trial registration number: </strong>NCT05549700 (ClinicalTrials.gov).</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"326-333"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142680530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effectiveness of acupuncture as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation after coronary artery bypass grafting.","authors":"Sharareh Roshanzamir, Leila Sadat Mohamadi Jahromi, Mohadese Zakeri, Rezvan Ghaderpanah, Reyhaneh Parvin","doi":"10.1177/09645284241298011","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241298011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Considering the importance of cardiac rehabilitation after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and the development of acupuncture over the past few decades, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on patients' exercise tolerance, heart rate and blood pressure after CABG.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-four patients with a history of recent CABG were recruited between 2019 and 2020 for this clinical trial and randomly divided into two groups receiving acupuncture plus cardiac rehabilitation (group A) and cardiac rehabilitation alone (group B). In both groups, exercise-based rehabilitation exercise was performed. Group A additionally received acupuncture at PC6, PC4, HT7 and GB20 bilaterally. Changes in blood pressure, heart rate and Borg scale score were evaluated before, during and after the course of the treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Heart rate was significantly lower in group A compared to group B after completion of the course of the treatment (P = 0.022). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in systolic or diastolic blood pressure or Borg scale scores (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, the Borg scale scores showed a significant decrease within each group over time (P < 0.001), reflecting an improvement in the patients' ability to tolerate activity after cardiac rehabilitation with or without acupuncture.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Acupuncture in combination with exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation was more effective at decreasing heart rate than cardiac rehabilitation alone after CABG. Both approaches appeared to be similarly effective at improving exercise tolerance. In this study, the addition of acupuncture at the aforementioned traditional acupuncture point locations to exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation did not affect blood pressure.</p><p><strong>Trial registration number: </strong>IRCT20171208037793N1 (Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials).</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"311-318"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142754543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-11-22DOI: 10.1177/09645284241298717
Pa Thor, Andrew Moreno, Haoyan Zhong, Miriam Sheetz, Marko Popovic, Sabrina M Strickland, Michael P Ast, Stephanie I Cheng
{"title":"A qualitative analysis of the use of intraoperative acupuncture for patients with nosocomephobia.","authors":"Pa Thor, Andrew Moreno, Haoyan Zhong, Miriam Sheetz, Marko Popovic, Sabrina M Strickland, Michael P Ast, Stephanie I Cheng","doi":"10.1177/09645284241298717","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241298717","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nosocomephobia, a type of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a diagnosis of an extreme fear of hospitals that can hinder current/future medical care. There is little research on how nosocomephobia affects elective surgery or how acupuncture can help patients cope.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using the transactional model of stress/coping, this qualitative case study examined the role of acupuncture in nosocomephobia patients' elective surgery appraisal processes. Two patients were interviewed about their nosocomephobia and prior hospital experiences. Six reviewers coded interview transcripts line-by-line using Dedoose software. Reviewers labeled meaningful words, phrases and sentences and produced over 600 codes. Reviewers discussed/identified themes by grouping similar codes and resolving discrepancies. A thematic analysis was then used to develop final themes. Pseudonyms were assigned to protect patient privacy. Sophie had avascular necrosis in both hips and suffered PTSD from a previous traumatic event. Intraoperative acupuncture calmed her hospital anxiety, allowing her to have both hips replaced. Olivia had experienced PTSD and hospital phobia since she was 12 years old. Acupuncture reduced her anxiety surrounding a necessary knee arthrotomy and osteochondral allograft.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thematic analysis showed how nosocomephobia impacted patients' views of surgery and distinguished between their unique fear rationale. The transactional model of stress/coping illustrated patients' appraisal process from surgery (stressor) to coping (acupuncture) to reappraisal (mental state).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Procedural visits can be stressful due to already heightened anxiety. Although no definitive conclusions can be drawn from this small, uncontrolled case series, acupuncture may represent a safe, noninvasive way for nosocomephobia patients to manage preoperative anxiety.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"356-361"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142685758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-11-23DOI: 10.1177/09645284241298716
Haiyan Zuo, Qiaoyu Qu, Yan Tong, Lei Wang, Xiaoxiao Wang, Shengbing Wu, Meiqi Zhou
{"title":"Electroacupuncture alleviates acute myocardial ischemic injury in mice by regulating the β<sub>1</sub> adrenergic receptor and post-receptor protein kinase A signaling pathway.","authors":"Haiyan Zuo, Qiaoyu Qu, Yan Tong, Lei Wang, Xiaoxiao Wang, Shengbing Wu, Meiqi Zhou","doi":"10.1177/09645284241298716","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241298716","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To determine the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on β<sub>1</sub>-adrenergic receptor (β<sub>1</sub>-AR) and post-receptor protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway after acute myocardial ischemia (MI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An MI model was established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery of wild-type (WT) C57/BL and β<sub>1</sub>-AR<sup>+/-</sup> mice (heterozygous for β<sub>1</sub>-AR gene deletion). EA treatment was administered at HT5-HT7 or LU9-LU8. We evaluated cardiac function by measuring ST segment displacement, ischemic area and serum levels of creatine kinase (CK)-MB and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Pathological morphology/apoptosis of myocardial tissue were examined using hematoxylin-eosin and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining. Norepinephrine (NE) levels in myocardial tissue were detected by ELISA. Levels of β<sub>1</sub> and post-receptor PKA signaling components were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>EA stimulation at HT7-HT5 could better regulate the level of β<sub>1</sub>-AR in myocardial tissue than that at LU9-LU8. Following EA, the ST segment, serum CK-MB/ LDH and area of myocardial infarction were decreased in WT mice, and the degree of myocardial pathology/apoptosis and expression of cleaved caspase-3 were decreased. Myocardial levels of Gs protein (Gs), adenylate cyclase (AC), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), phosphorylated protein kinase A (p-PKA), L-type voltage-gated calcium channel α1C (Cav1.2), serine phosphate 16-phospholamban (p-PLB<sup>s16</sup>) and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca<sup>2+</sup>-adenosine triphosphate (ATP)ase 2a (SERCA2a) increased after EA. However, these effects of EA were not replicated in β<sub>1</sub>-AR<sup>+/-</sup> mice. Interestingly, myocardial NE content decreased after EA in WT and β<sub>1</sub>-AR<sup>+/-</sup> mice.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>EA may enhance cardiac function and reduced MI area/apoptosis by restoring the activity of β<sub>1</sub>-AR and post-receptor PKA signaling.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"342-355"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11633077/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142695185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-05-05DOI: 10.1177/09645284241248473
Luqiang Sun, Haichuan Wang
{"title":"Acupuncture in the treatment of cocaine addiction: how does it work?","authors":"Luqiang Sun, Haichuan Wang","doi":"10.1177/09645284241248473","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241248473","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cocaine is a frequently abused and highly addictive drug that damages brain health and imposes substantial social and economic costs. Acupuncture has been used in the treatment of cocaine addiction and has been shown to improve abnormal mental and motor states. This article mainly focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms involving the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) that underlie the effects of acupuncture in the treatment of cocaine addiction. The central dopamine system is a key player in acupuncture treatment of cocaine addiction; the ventral tegmental area (VTA)-nucleus accumbens (NAc) signaling pathway, which has a modulatory influence on behavior and psychology after chronic use of cocaine, is a significant target of acupuncture action. Moreover, acupuncture alleviates cocaine-induced seizures or acute psychomotor responses through the paraventricular thalamus and the lateral habenula (LHb)-rostromedial tegmental (RMTg) nucleus circuits. The data suggest that acupuncture can impact various cocaine-induced issues via stimulation of diverse brain areas; nevertheless, the interconnection of these brain regions and the PNS mechanisms involved remain unknown. In this review, we also discuss the effects of specific acupuncture protocols on cocaine addiction and note that variations in needling modalities, current intensities and traditional acupuncture point locations have led to different experimental results. Therefore, standardized acupuncture protocols (with respect to stimulation methods, point locations and number of sessions) may become particularly important in future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"251-259"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140847295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1177/09645284241277211
Xueqian Jia, Fu Xu, Erhui Yu, Yihui Liu, Rong Wang, Gongyue Zhou
{"title":"Acupuncture treatment for post-stroke hemianopia: a case report.","authors":"Xueqian Jia, Fu Xu, Erhui Yu, Yihui Liu, Rong Wang, Gongyue Zhou","doi":"10.1177/09645284241277211","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241277211","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"295-297"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142152969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-07-28DOI: 10.1177/09645284241265872
Jing Liu, Jun Zhou, Jinlin Wang, Xiarong Huang, Mengjian Qu, Ying Liao, Guanghua Sun, Peirui Zhong, Jinqu Tan, Zhilu Sun
{"title":"Electroacupuncture ameliorates senile osteoporosis by promoting bone remodeling and regulating autophagy.","authors":"Jing Liu, Jun Zhou, Jinlin Wang, Xiarong Huang, Mengjian Qu, Ying Liao, Guanghua Sun, Peirui Zhong, Jinqu Tan, Zhilu Sun","doi":"10.1177/09645284241265872","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241265872","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Osteoporosis is widely regarded as a typical aged-related disease caused by impaired bone remodeling. This research was designed to explore the protective effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on senile osteoporosis in a rat model and investigate the underlying mechanisms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three-month-old rats were randomly selected as the youth group, and 24-month-old rats were randomly assigned to the elderly and EA groups. Rats in the EA group received 30 min of EA at bilateral SP10, ST36, K13 and GB34 daily, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Bone mineral density (BMD), microstructure of the bone tissue, bone turnover biomarkers and expression level of autophagy-related proteins were detected.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the elderly group, EA treatment significantly increased BMD of the femur and ameliorated the microstructure. EA treatment increased trabecular bone volume ratio (= bone volume / total volume [BV/TV]) and trabecular number (Tb.N) and decreased trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) in senile osteoporosis rats. Compared with the elderly group, the serum N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX1) level in the EA group was lower, and the serum procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) concentration was higher. In addition, the expression of Beclin 1, microtubule-associated protein I light chain 3 (LC3B) and P62 was inhibited in the senile osteoporosis rats after EA treatment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>EA can effectively alleviate aging-related bone loss and improve the microstructure of bone tissue in senile osteoporosis rats, and the regulation of autophagy might be one of the important mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"260-267"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141787038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-07-31DOI: 10.1177/09645284241265869
Jing Peng, Mi Zou, Manwa L Ng, Jie Tan, Juan Xiang
{"title":"Nonsurgical treatment of bilateral vocal fold paralysis: a case study of voice training combined with acupuncture.","authors":"Jing Peng, Mi Zou, Manwa L Ng, Jie Tan, Juan Xiang","doi":"10.1177/09645284241265869","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241265869","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"289-291"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141858673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Efficacy of acupuncture on drinkers with chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome: secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.","authors":"Lili Zhu, Yuanjie Sun, Shiyan Yan, Xiaoxu Liu, Xinlu Wang, Zhishun Liu","doi":"10.1177/09645284241274158","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241274158","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in drinkers with chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial across multiple centers, involving 224 drinkers. Patients received either acupuncture or sham acupuncture treatment. The primary outcome was the proportion of responders, defined as participants who had a reduction of 6 points or more from baseline in the National Institute of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) total score at weeks 8 and 32. Secondary outcomes measures included the Global Response Assessment (GRA), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and International Index of Erectile Function 5 (IIEF-5).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred and twelve drinkers were included in each group (n = 224 in total). The proportion of responders in terms of NIH-CPSI was 58.9% versus 40.3% in the acupuncture group (AG) and sham acupuncture group (SAG), respectively, with a statistically significant difference of 18.6% (<i>p</i> = 0.002) at week 8. Higher proportions of responders with respect to NIH-CPSI (<i>p</i> < 0.001 at week 32) and GRA (<i>p</i> < 0.001 at week 8 and <i>p</i> = 0.01 at week 32) were observed in the AG compared with the SAG. No between-group differences were found in the changes in IPSS at any assessment time point. Changes in IIEF-5 score were significantly higher in the AG than in the SAG at weeks 20 and 32, while the difference was not statistically significant at week 8.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Acupuncture appeared to alleviate the symptoms of pain among drinkers with CP/CPPS and improve their quality of life, but had no demonstrable effect on urinary tract symptoms or erectile function among these patients.</p><p><strong>Trial registration number: </strong>NCT03213938 (ClinicalTrials.gov).</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"243-250"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142103250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture in MedicinePub Date : 2024-10-01Epub Date: 2024-09-27DOI: 10.1177/09645284241280074
Meiling Chen, He Ran Xiong, Yanping Hu, Song Wang, Fan Zhou, Chao Xiang, Xin Zhao
{"title":"Electroacupuncture alleviates sciatic nerve injury and inhibits autophagy in rats.","authors":"Meiling Chen, He Ran Xiong, Yanping Hu, Song Wang, Fan Zhou, Chao Xiang, Xin Zhao","doi":"10.1177/09645284241280074","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284241280074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sciatic nerve injury is a common form of peripheral nerve injury (PNI). It has been suggested that electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation at GB30 and ST36 can improve nerve dysfunction post-PNI. Autophagy is an important factor in the regeneration of sciatic nerves and recovery of motor function. Therefore, we investigated the biological effects of EA and examined whether these were mediated by autophagy in sciatic nerve injury.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Mechanical clamping of the sciatic nerve in Sprague-Dawley rats was performed to establish an experimental model of sciatic nerve injury. EA stimulation was administered once daily for 15 min for seven consecutive days beginning 1 week after successful modeling. The recovery of sciatic nerve function was examined via the sciatic functional index (SFI) test. Morphometric analysis was conducted by staining nerve samples with toluidine blue. Autophagy-associated protein levels were measured via Western blotting.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>EA stimulation at GB30 and ST36 significantly increased the number of myelinated fibers, axonal and fiber diameters, and the thickness of the myelin sheath in our rat model of sciatic nerve injury. In addition, EA stimulation greatly facilitated nerve regeneration following sciatic nerve injury. Moreover, sciatic nerve injury-induced autophagy was inhibited by EA stimulation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>EA facilitates recovery of injured sciatic nerves and inhibits autophagy in a rat model.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"268-274"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}