• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.12 no.3 s.18
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• pp.49-58
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• 2006

Although the usage of acupuncture for pain has increased in recent years, the mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia (AA) remain unclear. The lack of suitable experimental animal models for persistent pain, which show clear AA, has been the major stumbling block in the investigation of the physiological mechanisms of AA. In the present study, we test AA in two knee arthritis models induced by injection of CFA or carrageenan as persistent pain models. After induction of arthritis, the rat subsequently showed a reduced stepping force of the affected limb for the next several days. Electroacupuncture (EA) was applied to an acupuncture point each on the contralateral forelimb for 30 minutes under gaseous anesthesia. After the termination of EA, behavioral tests measuring stepping force were periodically conducted during the next several hours. EA produced a significant improvement of stepping force of the foot lasting for at least 2 hours when applied to LR2 in CFA model, and applied to ST36 in carrageenan model, but both points did not produce any significant effects in each other model. Further experiments showed that intraperitoneal pretreatment of naltrexone, a non-selective opioid antagonist, did not reduced the EA-induced improvement of stepping force in both of two models. These data suggest that EA produce analgesic effect in knee arthritic pain and the analgesic effect is specific to the acupuncture point depending on painful conditions.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.57-72
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• 2008

Objectives : The Herb-combined Remedy(HCR) for diabetes mellitus is known as an anti-hyperglycaemic agent. But its exact mechanisms are unclear. The present study was carried out to investigate its anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-oxidative effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Methods : Experimental diabetes was induced by injection of STZ(80mg/kg) to ratsvia the peritoneum. The experimental animals were divided into 4 groups : normal group, control group(STZ-induced diabetic rats with no treatment), HCR group(STZ-induced diabetic rats with HCR treatment), MF group(STZ-induced diabetic rats with Metformin treatment). The effects of HCR on STZ-induced diabetes was observed by measuring fasting blood glucose, changes of body weight, food uptake, and water uptake glucose levels in the normal state decline rates in blood glucose levels DPPH free-radical scavenging activity superoxide dismutase in RBC lysate catalase activity in RBC lysate and glutathione reductase activity in RBC lysate. Results : Treatment with HCR regulated blood glucose levels. Treatment with HCR also prevented weight loss in STZ-induced diabetic rats. In addition, oral glucose tolerance decreased following treatment with HCR. Direct anti-oxidative effects on DPPH free-radical scavenging were not observed, but treatment with HCR elevated SOD levels in blood cell lysates from STZ-induced diabetic rats. In addition, the HCR-treatment group showed an elevated tendency to glutathione reductase activity. Conclusions : These results demonstrate that HCR has anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-oxidative effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1-10
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• 2005

Objectives : The Present study was carried out to investigate the preventive effect of Anti-diabetic prescription 1(AD-1) on streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic nephropathy. Methods : AD-1 consists of eleven herbs that have an effect on diabetes mellitus. AD-1 was given to rats with the combination of oral administration and herbal-acupuncture stimulation. The experimental animals were divided into 3 groups : normal group of rats, control group of STZ-induced diabetic rats, sample group with AD-1 treatment. Experimental diabetes was induced by the injection of STZ(60mg/kg) to e rat via the peritoneum. The effect of AD-1 on STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy was observed by measuring the serum level of creatinine and BUN. Urine secretion of albumin for 24 hours and urine level of glucose measures too. Anti-oxidative stress of AD-1 administration in living body was estimated by measuring lipid peroxide and GSH content in cortex of kidneys. Results : STZ induced increase of serum creatinine, BUN and albumin secretion were lowered by AD-1 treatment. Conclusion : The AD-1 treatment showed protective effect on rat diabetic nephropathy model, and action mechanism of the effect was thought to be concerned with anti-oxidative stress.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.92-104
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• 2002

Objective : Bee venom (BV) has traditionally been used in Oriental medicine to relieve pain and to treat inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Autoimmunity to type II collagen (CII) may involve in the pathogenesis of RA. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of BV on type II collagen induced arthritis (CIA) with the naked eye, a immunohistochemical method and the examination of histology. Method : Male mice were immunized by subcutaneously injection of an $200{\mu}g$ emulsion mixed with bovine CII and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) twice for two weeks. In the control group, normal saline was injected, and in the experimental group, BV was applied. Result : The incidence of arthritis, the mean arthritis index and the number of the arthritic limbs of the BV group were all significantly lower than those of the control group. Among the pro-inflammatory cytokines, the production of $TNF-{\alpha}$ in the BV group was also suppressed compared with the control group, but $IL-1{\beta}$ was not. The examination on the histopathology of joints of CIA mice showed the effect of Bee Venom Herbal Acupuncture on the arthritis. Conculusion : Treatment with BV resulted in inhibition of development of arthritis and immune responses to CII.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.313-322
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• 2013

Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated administration of the exogenous stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) induces dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and results in depression and anxiety. The current study sought to verify the impact of catechin (CTN) administration on chronic CORT-induced behavioral alterations using the forced swimming test (FST) and the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. Additionally, the effects of CTN on central noradrenergic systems were examined by observing changes in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity in rat brains. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg CTN (i.p.) 1 h prior to a daily injection of CORT for 21 consecutive days. The activation of the HPA axis in response to the repeated CORT injections was confirmed by measuring serum levels of CORT and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) in the hypothalamus. Daily CTN administration significantly decreased immobility in the FST, increased open-arm exploration in the EPM test, and significantly blocked increases of TH expression in the locus coeruleus (LC). It also significantly enhanced the total number of line crossing in the open-field test (OFT), while individual differences in locomotor activities between experimental groups were not observed in the OFT. Taken together, these findings indicate that the administration of CTN prior to high-dose exogenous CORT significantly improves helpless behaviors, possibly by modulating the central noradrenergic system in rats. Therefore, CTN may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression and anxiety disorders.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.207-213
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• 2012

The present study examined the effects of krill-derived phosphatidylserine (Krill-PS) on the learning and memory function and the neural activity in rats with trimethyltin (TMT)-induced memory deficits. The rats were administered vehicle (medium-chain triglyceride: MCT) or Krill-PS (50, 100 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for 21 days. The cognitive improving efficacy of Krill-PS in TMT-induced amnesic rats was investigated by assessing the Morris water maze test and by performing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) immunohistochemistry. The rats with TMT injection showed impaired learning and memory of the tasks and treatment with Krill-PS produced a significant improvement of the escape latency to find the platform in the Morris water maze at the $2^{nd}$ and $4^{th}$ day compared to that of the MCT group (p<0.05). In the retention test, the Krill-PS+MCT groups showed increased time spent around the platform compared to that of the MCT group. Consistent with the behavioral data, Krill-PS 50+MCT group significantly alleviated the loss of acetylcholinergic neurons in the hippocampus and medial septum compared to that of the MCT group. Treatment with Krill-PS significantly increased the CREB positive neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area as compared to that of the MCT group. These results suggest that Krill-PS may be useful for improving the cognitive function via regulation of cholinergic marker enzyme activity and neural activity.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.326-336
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• 1997

In order to investigate the effect of aqua-acupuncture solution with Panax Ginseng into $Qihai(CV_6)$ and $Shenshu(BL_{23})$ on immune response induced by glucocorticoid in mouse, Panax Ginseng aqua-acupuncture solution was injected into $Qihai(CV_6)$ and $Shenshu(BL_{23})$ for seven days after injection with glucocorticoid. And then MA-HRP (methamphetamine-horseradish peroxidase) induced antibody production, numbers and lysozyme activity in macrophage were measured. The results were as follows: 1. The antibody production in mouse immunized with MA-HRP was decreased in control group as compared with normal group. Although $Qihai(CV_6)$ group showed slight increasement, $Shenshu(BL_{23})$ group indicated great increasement compared with normal group. However in Aa-BL group, antibody production was almost increased to normal group. 2. In control group, the numbers of macrophage were decreased about 14% as compared with normal group. And in the pretreated groups of $Qihai(CV_6)$ and $Shenshu(BL_{23})$ were respectively increased 3.0 times and 2.9 times as compared with normal group. 3. Effect of Panax Ginseng-aqua acupuncture solution on the lysozyme activity in macrophage was increased gradually in the pretreated groups of $Qihai(CV_6)$ and $Shenshu(BL_{23})$ as compared with control group. These results suggest that Panax Ginseng aqua-acupuncture at $Qihai(CV_6)$ and $Shenshu(BL_{23})$ may increase antibody production and lysozyme activity in macrophage that is suppressed by glucocorticoid, and Panax Ginseng aqua-acupuncture will have immuno adjuvant effects on the cells which concerned with immunomechanisms.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.297-302
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• 2005

The present experiment was performed in order to know the anti-emetic effect of acupuncture, aquapuncture with metoclopramide and moxibustion on the xylazine induced emesis in dogs. The animals were devided into a control group (non-acupoint) and two experimental groups (BL-20 and LIV-13), respectively. Acupuncture, aquapuncture with metoclopramide (1 mg/kg) and moxibustion were applied to animals for 20 minutes before xylazine injection (2.2 mg/kg, IM). In acupuncture group, the emetic rates in BL-20 (16.7%) and LIV-13 (16.7%) were lower than that of control group (50%), respectively. In aquapuncture group, the emetic rates in BL-20 (16.7%) and LIV-13 (0.0%) were lower than that of control group (50%), respectively. In moxibustion group, the emetic rates in BL-20 (50%) and LIV-13 (16.7%) were lower than that of control group (83.3%), respectively. Considering above the findings collectively, it is considered that acupuncture, aquapuncture with metoclopramide and moxibustion at BL-20 and LIV-13 are effective and especially aquapuncture with metoclopramide at LIV-13 is the most effective treatment to prevent the emesis induced by xylazine among groups.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.113-122
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• 2005

Objective : The present study was carried out to investigate the preventive effect of Several Herb - Combined Prescription (SHP) on streptozotocin (STZ) - induced diabetes mellitus. Methods : SHP was given to mice with the combination of oral administration and herbal-acupuncture stimulation. Experimental diabetes was induced by the injection of STZ(50mg/kg) to the rat via the peritoneum The effect of SHP on STZ-induced diabetes was observed by measuring the serum level of insulin, glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol and lipid peroxides. Hepatic activities of catalase and reduced glutathione were examined. Results : SHP treatment protected them from the hyperglycemia. STZ induced increase of serum triglyceride lowered by SHP treatment. Conclusions : The SHP treatment showed protective effect on diabetic mouse model, and action mechanism of the effect was thought to be concerned with anti-oxidative stress.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.45-62
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• 2003

Objective: This study was designed to investigate effects of Nokyongsageunhwan and Nokyongsageunhwan aquapuncuture on body weight, body length, intellectual development Methods: We observed body weight, body length, intellectual development after feeding Nokyongsageunhwan and Nokyongsageunhwan aquapuncuture for thirty three days, and mRNA expressions of GHRF, Somatostatin, IGF-1, NPY were analyzed by RT-PCR method. Results: The results were summarized as follows. 1. Body length was significantly increased in Nokyongsageunhwan herbal acupuncture group compared to normal group and normal saline injection group on 4th week, 2. Lower part of hind leg length was significantly increased in Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration group compared to normal group on 3rd week, and it was significantly increased in Nokyongsageunhwan herbal acupuncture group and Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration group compared to that of normal group on 4th week. 3. As results of observing memory aquisition using Morris water maze system, there was significantly difference in Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration group compared to that of normal group on 4th week. 4. As results of observing retention using Morris water maze system, staying time was significantly increased in Nokyongsageunhwan herbal acupuncture group compared to that of normal group. 5. The somatostatin mRNA expression in the hypothalamus was significantly decreased in Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration group compared to that of normal group. 6. The IGF-1 mRNA expression in the hypothalamus is significantly increased in Nokyongsageunhwan herbal acupuncture group and Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration group compared to that of normal group. 7. The NPY mRNA expression in the hypothalamus was significantly increased in Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration group compared to that of normal group, and it was increased in Nokyongsageunhwan herbal acupuncture group compared to that of normal group, but there was no significant difference. Conclusions: According to the above results, it appears that Nokyongsageunhwan oral administration and Nokyongsageunhwan herbal acupuncture on acupoint GB34 and GB39 showed effects on the growth and the intellectual development of rats.