Acupoint catgut embedding is a useful therapy for weight management and widely applied in China. This review aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of acupoint catgut embedding on abdominal obesity. We searched the PubMed, Cochrane-Library, Embase, OVID, MEDLINE, ISI (web of science), Wanfang, VIP, CBM, and CNKI for randomized controlled trials that used acupoint catgut embedding to treat abdominal obesity before April 2019 with the language restriction of Chinese and English. The combination subject terms of abdominal obesity (or central obesity) and acupoint catgut embedding (or catgut implantation, catgut embedding) were used. We found 15 studies involving 1584 individuals. When acupoint catgut embedding plus electroacupuncture is compared with electroacupuncture alone, significant reductions in improvement rate (RR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.99~1.08), body weight (MD = 5.20, 95%CI = 1.16~9.25), body mass index (MD = 1.73, 95%CI = 0.70~2.76), waist circumference (MD = 2.91, 95%CI = 1.36~4.46), and hip circumference (MD = 1.06, 95%CI = -0.18~2.30) were found. Mean values of body weight by acupoint catgut embedding were 1.35 kg compared with electroacupuncture. Less adverse events were reported in all included articles. In summary, pooled outcomes of acupoint catgut embedding presented a tendency of equal effects to other kinds of acupuncture, whereas acupoint catgut embedding plus electroacupuncture is more effective for abdominal obesity. This study is registered with PROSPERO 2017 (CRD42017082357).

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) has been intensively used to assess alterations of inter-regional functional connectivity in patients with stroke, but the regional properties of brain activity in stroke have not yet been fully investigated. Additionally, no study has examined a frequency effect on such regional properties in stroke patients, although this effect has been shown to play important roles in both normal brain functioning and functional abnormalities. Here we utilized R-fMRI to measure the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo), two major methods for characterizing the regional properties of R-fMRI, in three different frequency bands (slow-5: 0.01-0.027 Hz; slow-4: 0.027-0.73 Hz; and typical band: 0.01-0.1 Hz) in 19 stroke patients and 15 healthy controls. Both the ALFF and ReHo analyses revealed changes in brain activity in a number of brain regions, particularly the parietal cortex, in stroke patients compared with healthy controls. Remarkably, the regions with changed activity as detected by the slow-5 band data were more extensive, and this finding was true for both the ALFF and ReHo analyses. These results not only confirm previous studies showing abnormality in the parietal cortex in patients with stroke, but also suggest that R-fMRI studies of stroke should take frequency effects into account when measuring intrinsic brain activity.

Complex regional pain syndrome type-I (CRPS-I) is a chronic neurological disorder that results in severe pain and affects patients' life quality. Conventional therapies usually lack effectiveness. Electroacupuncture (EA) is an effective physical therapy for relieving CRPS-I pain. However, the mechanism underlying EA-induced analgesia on CRPS-I still remain unknown. Spinal NLRP3 inflammasome was recently identified to contribute to pain and neuroinflammation in a rat model of CRPS-I by our group. Here, we aimed to study whether EA could inhibit spinal NLRP3 inflammasome activation, thus resulting in pain relief and attenuation of spinal neuroinflammation in the rat model of CRPS-I. We established the rat chronic post-ischemic pain (CPIP) model to mimic CRPS-I. CPIP rats developed remarkable mechanical allodynia that could be relieved by daily EA intervention. NLRP3 inflammasome was activated in spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) of CPIP rats, accompanied with over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β. Immunostaining revealed that the cellular distribution of NLRP3 was predominantly located in SCDH neurons. Pharmacological activation of NLRP3 inflammasome per se is sufficient to produce persistent mechanical allodynia in naïve animals, whereas blocking NLRP3 inflammasome attenuates mechanical allodynia of CPIP rats. EA exclusively reduced NLRP3 overexpression in SCDH neurons and attenuated spinal glial cell over-activation in CPIP rats. EA-induced anti-allodynia with attenuation of spinal glial cell over-activation were all mimicked by intrathecal blocking NLRP3 inflammasome and reversed by activating NLRP3 inflammasome, respectively, through pharmacological methods. Finally, spinal blocking IL-1β attenuated mechanical allodynia and spinal glial cell over-activation in CPIP rats, resembling the effects of EA. In all, these results demonstrate that spinal NLRP3 inflammasome activation contributes to mechanical allodynia of the rat model of CRPS-I and EA ameliorates mechanical allodynia through inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in SCDH neurons. Our study further supports EA can be used as an effective treatment for CRPS-I.

Acupuncture is a commonly used method to provide motor-symptomatic relief for patients with Parkinson s disease (PD). Our objective was to evaluate protective effects of acupuncture treatment and potential underlying mechanisms according to the "gut-brain axis" theory. We employed a 6-OHDA-induced PD rat model. The effects of acupuncture on disease development were assessed by behavioural tests and immunohistochistry (IHC). ELISA, qPCR and western blot (WB) were employed to measure inflammatory parameters and Fe metabolism in the substantia nigra (SN), striatum, duodenum and blood, respectively. Our data show that acupuncture can significantly increase the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), compared with untreated and madopa treated rats (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Furthermore we could observe significantly decreased levels of pro-inflammatory markers in the duodenum and serum (P < 0.05), reduced deposition of Fe in the substantia nigra (P < 0.05) and but no change in transferrin expression after acupuncture treatment. The mRNA ratio of DMT1/Fpn1 in the SN of acupuncture treated rats (1.1) was comparable to that of the sham group (1.0) which differed both significantly from the untreated and madopa treated groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, after acupuncture expression of α-synuclein was decreased in the duodenum. Acupuncture can reduce iron accumulation in the SN and protect the loss of dopamine neurons by promoting balanced expression of the iron importer DMT1 and the iron exporter Fpn1. Furthermore CNS iron homeostasis may be affected by reduced systemic and intestinal inflammation.

Acupuncture can effectively improve the sleep state, and most PD patients have sleep disorders. In this study, we used acupuncture to intervene in the sleep state of PDSD, so as to observe the changes and dose effect of Acutreatment on PDSD. 57 patients with PDSD, during medical treatment, aged 40–70 years were recruited to enroll in this trial. Each participant completed one condition, namely, Acutreatment (n = 30) and sham Acutreatment (placebo, stick flat needle on skin, n = 27). The Acutreatment was applied for 30 min once a day for a 30‐day observation. UPDRSIII scores for motor symptom assessment and sleeping quality were assessed by PDSS‐2, ESS as well as ActiGraph. Scale evaluation was made on the first day of admission and the thirtieth day. There were significant differences on all outcome indicators, except UPDRSIII, on day 30 compared with day 1 (P < 0.01). Compared with sham Acutreatment therapy, Acutreatment therapy has better performance in sleep latency, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency (P < 0.01). ActiGraph indicated that sleep efficiency of sham or Acutreatment in day 6 was significantly lower than that in day 5 (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01) and Acutreatment in day 7 was significantly lower than that in day 6 (P < 0.01). The sleep efficiency of Acutreatment in days 5, 6, and 7 was significantly higher than that in sham Acutreatment (P < 0.01). Moreover, Acutreatment in days 26, 27, and 28 was significantly higher than that in sham Acutreatment (P < 0.01). There was a close correlation between the difference of UPDRSIII and PDSS‐2 (r = 0.5090, P < 0.05), sleep latency (r = 0.7201, P < 0.01), TST (r = −0.6136, P < 0.01), and sleep efficiency (r = −0.6707, P < 0.01). The sleep condition of PDSD patients can be improved by acupuncture, which can effectively relieve sleep quality, can also be shown by ActiGraph, and shows a dose‐response relationship. Future research should explore Acutreatment with a larger sample size and compare the Acutreatment protocol goal formation of the system scheme.