TY - JOUR
T1 - Electro-acupuncture relieves chronic visceral hyperalgesia in rats
AU - Cui, K. M.
AU - Li, W. M.
AU - Gao, X.
AU - Chung, K.
AU - Chung, J. M.
AU - Wu, G. C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was financially supported by the Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (issued no: SMCST 02DZ19150-01). This study was also supported in part by an NIH grant, RO1 AT001474.
PY - 2005/3/7
Y1 - 2005/3/7
N2 - Acupuncture treatment is one of the most desirable choices for the management of pain including chronic visceral pain, but its scientific evidence and laws of action are not very clear at this point. In this study, we examined the immediate and cumulative effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) on chronic visceral pain induced by colorectal distention (CRD) stimuli in rats using an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) model (a chronic visceral hypersensitivity model). The results demonstrated that EA could significantly depress both abnormally increased abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) scores and the magnitude of electromyograms (EMGs) recorded from the rectus abdominis in response to CRD stimulation at strengths of 20, 40, 60, and 80 mmHg. Repeated EA treatment for 14 days showed that the effects of EA on both abnormal AWRs and EMGs appeared 2-4 days after the start of the EA application session, gradually enhanced to its maximum within 8-12 days, and lasted 5 days after EA treatment stopped. These data provide evidence that visceral pain associated with the rat IBS model can be effectively treated by EA and opens up the possibility of clinical treatment of chronic visceral pain with acupuncture.
AB - Acupuncture treatment is one of the most desirable choices for the management of pain including chronic visceral pain, but its scientific evidence and laws of action are not very clear at this point. In this study, we examined the immediate and cumulative effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) on chronic visceral pain induced by colorectal distention (CRD) stimuli in rats using an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) model (a chronic visceral hypersensitivity model). The results demonstrated that EA could significantly depress both abnormally increased abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) scores and the magnitude of electromyograms (EMGs) recorded from the rectus abdominis in response to CRD stimulation at strengths of 20, 40, 60, and 80 mmHg. Repeated EA treatment for 14 days showed that the effects of EA on both abnormal AWRs and EMGs appeared 2-4 days after the start of the EA application session, gradually enhanced to its maximum within 8-12 days, and lasted 5 days after EA treatment stopped. These data provide evidence that visceral pain associated with the rat IBS model can be effectively treated by EA and opens up the possibility of clinical treatment of chronic visceral pain with acupuncture.
KW - Abdominal withdrawal reflex
KW - Chronic visceral hyperalgesia
KW - Colorectal distention stimulation
KW - Electro-acupuncture
KW - Irritable bowel syndrome
KW - Rectus abdominis muscle
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.11.018
DO - 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.11.018
M3 - Article
C2 - 15694267
AN - SCOPUS:13444270784
SN - 0304-3940
VL - 376
SP - 20
EP - 23
JO - Neuroscience Letters
JF - Neuroscience Letters
IS - 1
ER -