• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-106
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• 2003

Studies have shown that both the psychomotor stimulant effects and rewarding properties of addictive drugs, including morphine, are sensitized by repeated drug administration and it is suggested that both of these effects are mediated by the same or closely overlapping dopamine systems. Specifically, the mesolimbic dopamine system has been implicated in the reinforcing and sensitizing properties of morphine. In oriental medicine, Shenmen (HT7) point on the heart channel has been used to treat mental and psychosomatic disorders. This study was designed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on acute and repeated morphine-induced changes in extracellular dopamine levels using in vivo microdialysis and morphine-induced behavioral changes. In the morphine sensitization experiment, male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated twice a day for three days with increasing doses of morphine (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg, s.c.) or with saline. After 15 days of withdrawal, rats were challenged with morphine hydrochloride (5mg/kg, s.c.). Acupuncture was applied at bilateral Shenmen (HT7) points for 1 min after the morphine challenge. In the acute experiment, rats also received acupuncture for 1 min after an injection of morphine hydrochloride (5 mg/kg, s.c.). Results showed that acupuncture at the specific acupoint HT7, but not at control points (tail) significantly decreased both dopamine release and behavior induced by a systemic morphine challenge or a single sc morphine injection in the acute animals. These results suggest that reduction in sensitization may be one mechanism whereby acupuncture alleviates morphine craving in addicts.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.103-108
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• 2010

Objectives : This study is to report the percentage of localized itching which occurred, when we injected to patients with Sweet Bee Venom(Sweet BV). Methods : We investigated 374 patients who had injected with Sweet BV in our clinic from February 15. 2009 to April 30, 2010. We checked the number and percentage of patients who occured localized itching on injection area. Then we analyzed those according to times in treatment, the body parts of injection and treatment dosage. Results and Conclusion : Localized itching was lower by 1.60% in the first treatment with Sweet BV. However localized itching was 12.83% in the whole course of treatment, which showed a similar incidence of 13% in Bee Venom. Therefore it can be interpreted that Sweet BV may help suppress the immune responses such as itching in the initial treatment, but the occurrence of local immune responses of Sweet BV may be similar to that of Bee Venom in continued treatment. We suppose that we should be careful of the occurrence of local immune responses as Bee Venom at least until the fourth treatment in clinical application with Sweet BV, although localized itching did not occur in the first treatment. Also we should be careful of treatment with Sweet BV in body parts, such as wrist, hand, chest and abdominal, because the percentage of localized itching was relatively high in those parts.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.5-12
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• 2008

Objective In this article, we report on the intradermal Alcian blue staining method for tracing the meridians of acupuncture. Methods 1% Alcian blue solution was injected into acupoints by using a 0.5mL insulin syringe with a 31-gauge needle, then the skin was incised and was observed under a stereoscopic microscope. The specimens were examined by using immunohistochemical methods and were observed under a confocal laser scanning microscope. Results A threadlike structure, which was visualized with Alcian blue, existed in dermis layer and proceeded to hypodermis. In this structure, characteristic alignments of rod- shaped nuclei and $1-2{\mu}m$ sized DNA granules were observed. Furthermore, abundant blood capillary plexuses, peripheral nerve endings, and a corpuscle-like structure(about $300{\mu}m$ in diameter) were visualized in the skin tissues of acupoints. Conclusion It was concluded that the specific threadlike and corpuscle-like structures corresponded to superficial Bonghan duct and corpuscle, respectively.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.318-328
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• 1998

The aqua-acupuncture blended with liquid medicine and acupuncture is known to be effective in treating various medical disorders. This study used gallbladders of bear (WoongDam, WD, Ursus arctos Linne) and pig(JeoDam, JD, Sus scrofa domestica Brisson) plus the stones from the ox gallbladder(WooHwang, WH, Bos taurus var, domesticus Gmelin) to produce the liquid medicine. For the acupuncture, acupoint of ST -36 which is located one finger breadth from the anterior crest of the tibia was selected. There were a couple of purposes in this experiment. First, the relationship between aqua-acupuncture and gastric activity was scrutinized. Secondly, the possibility of pig gallbladder as an alternative organ to bear gallbladder for making liquid medicine was evaluated. Thirdly, different injection concentration ratio of liquid medicine was tried to figure out the optimal dosage for the aqua-acupuncture. The data of the present results indicated that the mixtures of WD + WH and JD + WH have a similar hypotonic effect on the stomach. These findings illustrated that aqua-acupuncture or hydroacupuncture showed inhibitory effect on the stomach in addition to its well-known prophylactic value. Also the possible alternative medical organ of pig gallbladder was checked out since two mixtures illustrated very similar trends in suppressing the gastric activity. The injection concentration ratio was not very different between two mixtures in terms of gastric motility except a couple of ratio. In conclusion, the aqua-acupuncture is a promising way to control the gastric activity for better medical purposes and the gallbladder of pig was assessed as a prospective one for making a liquid medicine.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.510-517
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• 2003

Studies have shown that both the psychomotor stimulant effects and rewarding properties of addictive drugs, including morphine, are sensitized by repeated drug administration and it is suggested that both of these effects are mediated by the same or closely overlapping dopamine systems. Specifically, the mesolimbic dopamine system has been implicated in the reinforcing and sensitizing properties of morphine. In oriental medicine, Shenmen (HT7) point on the heart channel has been used to treat mental and psychosomatic disorders. This study was designed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on acute and repeated morphine-induced changes in extracellular dopamine levels using in vivo microdialysis and morphine-induced behavioral changes. In the morphine sensitization experiment, male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated twice a day for three days with increasing doses of morphine (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg, s.c.) or with saline. After 15 days of withdrawal, rats were challenged with morphine hydrochloride (5 mg/kg, s.c.). Acupuncture was applied at bilateral Shenmen (HT7) points for 1 min after the morphine challenge. In the acute experiment, rats also received acupuncture for 1 min after an injection of morphine hydrochloride (5 mg/kg, s.c.). Results showed that acupuncture at the specific acupoint HT7, but not at control points (tail) significantly decreased both dopamine release and behavior induced by a systemic morphine challenge or a single sc morphine injection in the acute animals. These results suggest that reduction in sensitization may be one mechanism whereby acupuncture alleviates morphine craving in addicts.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.715-723
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• 1999

Bee venom (BV) has been traditionally applied to relieve pain and to cure inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and neuritis. While several investigators have evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of BV treatment, the anti-nociceptive effect of BV treatment on inflammatory pain is not reported. Therefore, we decided to evaluate the analgesic effect of BV treatment using Freund's adjuvant induced chronic arthritis model. Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis has been used as an experimental animal model for RA in humans to assess the efficacy of the anti-inflammatory/analgesic drugs. In this study, subcutaneous BV treatment (1mg/kg/day) produced significantly reductions of symptoms related to arthritic pain (i.e. mechanical hyperalgesia and thermal hyperalgesia). The anti-nociceptive effect of BV was observed from at least 12 days after BV treatment. Furthermore, BV treatment significantly suppressed adjuvant induced Fos expression in lumbar spinal cord. We also found that local injection of BV into near the inflammatory site (especially Zusanli-acupoint) showed more potent analgesic effect on arthritic pain rather than distant injection of BV from inflammatory site (arbitrary side of back). The present study demonstrates that BV treatment has anti-nociceptive effect on arthritis induced inflammatory pain. The analgesic effect of BV on RA is probably mediated by the effect of BV itself or possible other mechanism such as counter-irritation. Furthermore, it is possible that BV acupuncture is one of the promising candidates for long-term therapy of RA.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.211-227
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• 1998

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia(BPH) is the most common benign tumor seen in the western male, and it is found in 50% of men over 50 years of age. It is characterized by the formation of large discrete lesions in the periurethral region. As they enlarge, these nodules tend to compress the urethra and cause partial or almost complete obstruction of .urine flow. The etiology of BPH is uncertain, but the increasing incidence with advancing age suggests the possibility of an imbalance between male and female sex hormones. In the past, most patients have had multiple indications to support the decision to initiate therapy. But both the urologic surgeon and the patient must be clearly aware of the results that can be expected and the risks involved in achieving them. The aims of this study are to investigate and summarize the current trends of treatment for BPH so as to suggest the effective and available way to treat the disease. In Oriental medicine, the BPH is recognized as uroschesis and ischuria, and the etiology is mainly in stagnated blood and insufficiency of the kidneys. The point of treatment of BPH is recovery of urination, and the treatment can be approached in two ways through herb drugs and acupuncture. Some of the herb drugs have substances which reduce BPB. Acupuncture therapy stimulates the pelvic plexus and is reported to be effective for voiding. Suppository, massotherapy, rectal injection, locus injection and attachment of herb drugs to the navel or the acupoint are announced as the effective treatments. So, this study of the approach and application of these treatments on BPH would be necessary.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.407-414
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate whether the spinal cholinergic and serotonergic analgesic systems mediate the relieving effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic cold allodynia in rats. The cold allodynia induced by an oxaliplatin injection (6 mg/kg, i.p.) was evaluated by immersing the rat's tail into cold water ($4^{\circ}C$) and measuring the withdrawal latency. EA stimulation (2 Hz, 0.3-ms pulse duration, 0.2~0.3 mA) at the acupoint ST36, GV3, or LI11 all showed a significant anti-allodynic effect, which was stronger at ST36. The analgesic effect of EA at ST36 was blocked by intraperitoneal injection of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist (atropine, 1 mg/kg), but not by nicotinic (mecamylamine, 2 mg/kg) receptor antagonist. Furthermore, intrathecal administration of $M_2$ (methoctramine, $10{\mu}g$) and $M_3$ (4-DAMP, $10{\mu}g$) receptor antagonist, but not $M_1$ (pirenzepine, $10{\mu}g$) receptor antagonist, blocked the effect. Also, spinal administration of $5-HT_3$ (MDL-72222, $12{\mu}g$) receptor antagonist, but not $5-HT_{1A}$ (NAN-190, $15{\mu}g$) or $5-HT_{2A}$ (ketanserin, $30{\mu}g$) receptor antagonist, prevented the anti-allodynic effect of EA. These results suggest that EA may have a significant analgesic action against oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain, which is mediated by spinal cholinergic ($M_2$, $M_3$) and serotonergic ($5-HT_3$) receptors.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.147-153
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• 2019

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and analgesic effects of Datura Flos pharmacopuncture (DFP). Methods: The analgesic effects of DFP were assessed using mechanical (hot plate), chemical (formalin test), and thermal (von Frey filament test) pain tests. Forty male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned randomly into DFP (75 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg), lidocaine 0.5%, or normal saline group for treatment on Kl3. Gross pathology, histopathology, biochemistry and hematology were performed. Results: In the hot plate test, DFP at a high dose (HDDFP; 150 mg/kg) produced a significant analgesic effect, at 10 and 20-minutes post injection (p < 0.01). Low dose DFP (LDDFP; 75 mg/kg) also showed an analgesic effect at 10 minutes post injection (p < 0.01). In the formalin test, HDDFP produced an analgesic effect, for 0-10 and 10-20 minutes (p < 0.01) post treatment, whereas LDDFP showed analgesic effects between 10-20 minutes (p < 0.05). In the von Frey filament test, DF-H produced an analgesic effect, 10 (p < 0.01) and 20 minutes post treatment (p < 0.05). LDDFP showed analgesic effect at 10 minutes (p < 0.05). In the acupuncture response test, HDDFP produced an analgesic effect at 10 minutes post treatment (p < 0.05). DF-H did not cause any anatomical changes to the liver or kidney and there were no abnormalities in biochemistry or hematology. Conclusion: DF-H was not toxic and provided short term analgesia, suggesting it may be useful in the management of pain.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.23-30
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• 2016

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate recent clinical studies on effect of acupuncture for strabismus in Korea and other countries. We have analyzed 10 years (from 2006 to 2015) of case studies and randomized controlled trials (RCT) on effect of acupuncture for strabismus. Methods The search database includes Oasis, KTKP (Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal), Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library. To narrow the search, the following key search terms were used: 'strabismus, acupuncture'. The search was limited to the publication date from 2006 to 2015. 7 case studies and 5 control studies were selected for analysis. Results and Conclusions 1. The acupuncture treatment is effective for paralytic strabismus 2. The studies used BL1, GB1, ST2, TE23, GB15, EX-HN5, ST1, and LI4 acupoints and also an electroacupuncture treatment, which is 15 minutes of extraocular muscle stimulation, was used. 3. Degree of strasbismus was tested by Ocular motor range test, Corneal light reflex test, Ocular abducent scale test (Scott and Kraft, Diploptic range test).