Acupuncture for immune-mediated disorders

TRAUMA, TISSUE HEALING, BURNS, ULCERS, FISTULAS, INDOLENT WOUNDS: The success and use of plastic surgery, tissue replantation can be improved by increasing local blood circulation, phagocytosis and inflammatory reaction and/or preventing arterial spasm, thrombosis, blood sludging or clotting. Topical leeches (87), nitroglycerin, AP, EAP and LLLT enhance flap/graft survival (88-90).

Time to obtain pain relief and to resolve swelling in bone fracture and time to eliminate other symptoms and to heal the fracture was less than usual with EAP (91). EAP, Electrostimulation (ES) or LLLT greatly enhanced the rate of healing and strength of repair of wounds (92-94) and infected wounds and burns (95) and local antibiotics did not improve the success (96). Brown et al (11) stated that AP stimulation gave a longer rise in ipsilateral skin temperature (vasodilation) than stimulation of "non-points". AP or EAP via needles around the edge of trophic ulcers, including post-phlebitis ulcers, cured 100% (97). AP cured thromboangitis obliterans (98). AP, with anticoagulant therapy (heparin), cured thrombophlebitis (99). LLLT cured chronic wounds in horses (20). TENS or LLLT cured wounds, fistulas and peripheral circulatory disorders including ischaemia, ulcers, gangrene (10,100-103); chronic leprous ulcers (104). The healing rate was the same as in TENS treatment of other types of ulcer (neuropathy, atherosclerosis, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, decubitus etc). Marked, prolonged vasodilation follows non-segmental TENS, probably due to release of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), endorphin and serotonin (104). AP cured 92% of anal fissures. Pain and bleeding improved or stopped after the first session in 82% (105). Moxa needle (warming effect) was better than EAP or simple AP in re-establishing peripheral circulation in frostbite of the fingers (106).

INFLAMMATION, LOCALISED AND ORGANIC INFECTION: EAP inhibited experimental inflammation. EAP into the site gave the greatest antiinflammatory effect (107-109). AP suppressed histamine-mediated increase in vascular permeability and reduced exudation in burns (110).

AP or LLLT cured and prevented acute conjunctivitis (111), cured maxillary sinusitis (112,113). The results were better than with antibiotics. EAP is a first-choice method of preventing repeated attacks of chronic tonsillitis with fever (114). Earpoint AP was effective in treating tracheitis in infants (115) and was as good as medication in pyogenic otitis media (116). LLLT cured most acute cases (117). Fire needling, with a medicinal fuse, cured 100% of tubercular cervical lymphadenitis (118). AP cured 80% of Tinea capitis cases (119). EAP cured 46% and improved 42% of Tinea pedis cases. Fungal culture from the site was negative after AP (120). AP cured or markedly improved 46% and improved 50% of Scrofula cases (121). AP needling to bleed viral warts cured 97% within 3 months (122).

GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS:Stomach: AP at ST36 increased gastric motility (123) and amplitude, decreased the frequency of gastric contraction (124), increased serum gastrin (125) and decreased basal and vagally-mediated gastric acid secretion (126,127). EAP at BL20 increased the frequency and amplitude of contraction. Naloxone did not abolish the effect but vagotomy or atropine did (128). AP or EAP at ST36, BL21, PC06 increased gastric secretion of bicarbonate and sodium in dogs. Gastric acidity decreased (129,130). The AP effect was blocked by local anaesthesia of the AP points or by use of atropine. The AP effect is mediated by somatovisceral reflexes, via blockade of histamine H2- or cholinergic- receptors in gastric mucosa (126,128-130). AP-injection at BL18, BL21, ST36 was effective in atrophic gastritis (131). AP or EAP was effective in treating experimental gastric ulcer in rats (132,133), peptic ulceration in foals (134) and in clinical gastroduodenal ulcer in humans (126,135,136), even those which had relapsed after completion of conventional therapies (137). AP, moxa, magnetic-, electro-magnetic- or laser-AP were effective in 1-3 days in infantile enteritis, often in cases which had failed to respond to medication (138-142) and AP was effective in diarrhoea in diabetic neuropathy (143). AP was as good as antibiotic therapy in treating piglet diarrhoea usually associated with E. coli and coronavirus (144-146). LLLT at GV01 was effective in lamb dysentery (403). AP or AP + moxa was effective in dysentery (34,147), which had not responded to medication (37), increased intestinal microcirculation in 15 minutes and reduced hyperperistalsis and borborygmus after 15-30 minutes (148). AP or LLLT was effective in acute appendicitis (149,150). AP at GV01, BL35, BL57, GV20 cured 100 % of types 1 and 2 and 77 % of type 3 prolapsed rectum in children (151). AP, EAP, moxa and herbs are effective in curing hepatopathy (152) and hepatitis, including acute viral icteric hepatitis (153,154,155,156,157,158,159). AP and EAP aided normalisation of the pathological increase of 5-HT metabolism and decrease of DA content of the brain in CCl4 toxicity (160) and helped to prevent and cure pathology in CCl4 toxicity. The AP effect was mediated by endogenous opiates (161,162). AP at GB-related points increases intra-GB pressure up to 26 times. This helps expulsion of stones or ascarides from the bile duct (163). AP, EAP, acupressure are effective in cholecystitis, cholelithiasis and biliary ascariasis (136,163-176).

REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS: AP-type stimuli influence reproductive organs and functions, including release of LH, FSH, progesterone and oestradiol (177-179). It can activate or inhibit uterine and cervical contraction in humans and animals and can increase local microcirculation and immunity. AP can be used to prevent threatened abortion (180); to correct foetal malposition (181,182); to induce labour in women; to cure morning sickness (183,184); vaginitis/leucorrhea (185); dysmenorrhoea (186-190). AP cured vulvar ulceration (191), vulvar leukoplakia (192) and hysteromyoma without the need for surgery (193). It cured female infertility/sterility (amenorrhoea, anovulation, polycystic ovarian disease (POCD), functional metrorrhagia) (178,179,194,195); pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) (41,196-198). The results were better than in similar cases treated by antibiotics (199).

Endometritis always follows mating in mares but healthy mares clear the uterus within 48-72 hours. Poor contractility, imbalance of lymphatic/ circulatory/uterine secretion (build-up of secretions) and inability to clear the debris through the cervix are important in the aetiology uterine infection (200). AP was effective in repeat-breeder mares (201). Laser on the clitoris was effective in anoestrus in cows (404). Others claim success with AP in treating infertility (anoestrus, cystic ovary, and repeat breeder) in other species (cows, bitches, sows).

AP can treat impotence, poor libido, infertility and prostatitis in men (143,202-209). Similar claims are made for stud animals.

MAMMARY DISORDERS: AP, moxa, point bleeding and massage was effective within a few days in acute mastitis, breast abscess and breast carbuncle in women (210-214). AP cured mammary fibrocystic disease in women within 3 weeks and can be used in the differential diagnosis of fibrocystic disease from mammary carcinoma (215). AP was effective in mammary hyperplasia (216-217); proliferative mastosis (painful breast tumour, not specified if inflammatory or neoplastic) (218); primary agalactia and hypogalactia (219-221). There are claims that AP is effective in mastitis and agalactia in animals. Because of different anatomy/nerve supply, points for mammary disorders in animals are different to those in women.