The effect of auricular acupuncture in obese women: a randomized controlled trial

Effect of auricular acupuncture on gastrointestinal motility and its relationship with vagal activity

BACKGROUND

Vagus nerve stimulation is capable of regulating autonomic nerve function. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the effect of auricular acupuncture (AA) is mediated by the vagus. This study was designed to investigate the effect of AA on gastrointestinal (GI) motility and the relationship of this effect with the vagus nerve.

METHODS

50 rats were divided into five groups for observation of the effects of different types of acupuncture and influencing factors: control, AA, somatic acupuncture (SA), atropine and atropine+AA. The acupuncture points used for AA were ST (Stomach) and SI (Small intestine), while the acupuncture point used for SA was ST36. Electroacupuncture was performed for 15 min. A model of reduced GI motility was established using ethanol, and GI transit rate was used to measure GI motility. Heart rate variability (HRV) and the effect of atropine administration were investigated to study the relationship between AA and vagal activity.

RESULTS

The GI transit rate increased in both the AA and SA groups compared with control, and no significant difference was found between their effects. In addition, after atropine administration, AA was found to be ineffective in influencing the GI transit rate. In the HRV analysis, no significant differences were found in the absolute low frequency normalised units, high frequency normalised units or the low frequency/high frequency component ratio in the AA or SA groups compared with control. After administration of atropine AA still had no effect on HRV.

CONCLUSIONS

The function of AA in improving GI motility is similar to that of SA, and this effect can be blocked by the presence of atropine, indicating that this effect is regulated by the vagus. However, HRV did not reflect the acupuncture-induced changes in vagal nerve function.

Acupuncture in the treatment of obesity: a narrative review of the literature

Obesity is one of the leading health risk factors worldwide and is associated with several other risk factors and health problems including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and malignancies. Current conventional therapeutic strategies for obesity cannot achieve adequate weight control in all patients, so complementary types of treatment are also performed. Acupuncture, one of the oldest healing practices, represents the most rapidly growing complementary therapy which is recognised by both the National Institutes of Health and the WHO. A previous review concluded that acupuncture was superior to lifestyle advice, to sham acupuncture and to conventional medication. In this narrative review, the possible mechanisms of actions and the results of recent experimental and clinical studies with different forms of acupuncture (eg, body, auricular, manual and electroacupuncture) are presented. In particular, the effects of acupuncture on anorexigenic and orexigenic peptides, insulin resistance, lipid metabolism and inflammatory markers are discussed. Both experimental and clinical current data suggest that acupuncture exerts beneficial effects on the mechanisms of obesity. Some data suggest that electroacupuncture may be more effective than manual acupuncture; however, the most effective frequency remains controversial. Combination of different forms of acupuncture with diet and exercise seems to be necessary for achieving and maintaining weight loss.  Further prospective clinical trials are needed to establish the effectiveness of this complementary method for obesity treatment.

Effects of auricular acupressure on body weight parameters in patients with chronic schizophrenia

Auricular acupressure is widely used in complementary and alternative medicine to reduce body weight, but little is known about the effects of auricular acupressure on body weight parameters in patients with chronic schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of auricular acupressure on body weight parameters in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Eighty-six inpatients with schizophrenia were recruited from chronic wards in a psychiatric center. The participants were randomly divided into experimental (acupressure at 4 acupuncture sites: hunger, stomach, shenmen and endocrine) and control groups, and body weight parameters were determined weekly for 8 weeks. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in mean body weight, waist circumference, or body fat percentage at the pretest or during the entire 8-week study period. Therefore, auricular acupressure did not cause body weight reduction in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

Influence of acupuncture on leptin, ghrelin, insulin and cholecystokinin in obese women: a randomised, sham-controlled preliminary trial

BACKGROUND

Obesity is an energy balance problem caused by overeating. Obesity treatment includes diet, exercise, behaviour treatment, pharmacotherapy and surgery; in addition, acupuncture is also an option.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of acupuncture on weight loss and whether a brief acupuncture treatment of 5 weeks can change circulating levels of leptin, ghrelin, insulin and cholecystokinin (CCK) in obese women.

METHODS

40 women with a body mass index (BMI)>30 kg/m(2) were equally randomised to either an acupuncture group or a sham (non-penetrating) acupuncture group and received treatment at LI4, HT7, ST36, ST44 and SP6 bilaterally. Both groups had two sessions of 20 min/week for a total of 10 sessions. Serum insulin, leptin, plasma ghrelin and CCK levels were measured by ELISA.

RESULTS

Acupuncture treatment decreased insulin and leptin levels and induced weight loss, together with a decrease in BMI compared with sham acupuncture. Furthermore, between-group analyses demonstrated increases in plasma ghrelin and CCK levels in subjects who received acupuncture treatment.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that acupuncture may help to regulate weight owing to its beneficial effects on hormones such as insulin, leptin, ghrelin and CCK in obese subjects even after a few weeks of treatment.

Effects of auricular acupressure combined with low-calorie diet on the leptin hormone in obese and overweight Iranian individuals

BACKGROUND

Human leptin is a peptide hormone that is released from white adipocytes. The absence of leptin or its receptor leads to uncontrolled food intake, leading to obesity. In the present work, the effects of auricular acupressure combined with low-calorie diet on the leptin hormone level were investigated.

METHODS

Volunteers (n=86) with body mass indices (BMI) between 25 and 45 kg/m² were randomised into a case (n=43) or a control (n=43) group. Participants in each group received a low-calorie diet for 6 weeks. The case group was treated with auricular acupressure and the control group received a sham procedure. Plasma leptin levels, body fat mass, body weight and BMI were measured before and after treatment.

RESULTS

Participants who received auricular acupressure showed significant reductions in their plasma leptin levels (18.57%, p<0.01) as well as in their body fat mass (4%, p<0.05). These changes were not observed in the control group. The reduction in leptin was significantly greater in the acupressure group than the controls.

CONCLUSIONS

Auricular acupressure combined with a low-calorie diet significantly reduced plasma levels of leptin. However, the mechanism of this reduction is not clear.

Gender differences in traditional Chinese medicine use among adults in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES

The increasing use of complementary, alternative medicine (CAM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted attention. We report on the gender difference in TCM use among the general population in Taiwan in a population-based, cross-sectional study.

METHODS

We collected data on socio-demographic factors, lifestyle and health behavior from the 2001 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey. The medical records of interviewees aged 20-69 years were obtained from National Health Insurance claims data with informed consent. The prevalence of TCM use and the average frequency of TCM use were compared between women and men.

RESULTS

Among 14,064 eligible participants, the one-year prevalence of TCM use for women and men was 31.8% and 22.4%, respectively. Compared with men, women had a higher average TCM use frequency (1.55 visits vs. 1.04 visits, p<0.001). This significant difference remained evident after excluding gender-specific diseases (1.43 visits vs. 1.03 visits, p<0.001). The average TCM use frequency was significantly higher in women than in men across all age groups. TCM use correlates differed for women and men. Marital status (odds ratio [OR] = 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30-1.85), family income and unhealthy lifestyle (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.30-1.74) were factors associated with TCM use in men but not in women.

CONCLUSIONS

In Taiwan, women used more TCM services than men and the gender differences in the TCM use profile persisted across age groups.

Acupuncture: is it effective for treatment of insulin resistance?

Insulin resistance (IR) is closely associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), non-alcohol fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) and metabolic syndrome and is also a risk factor for serious diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. Pharmacological treatments available for IR are limited by drug adverse effects. Because acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in China, it has been increasingly used worldwide for IR-related diseases. This review analyses 234 English publications listed on the PubMed database between 1979 and 2009 on the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for IR. These publications provide clinical evidence, although limited, in support of the effectiveness of acupuncture in IR. At this stage, well-designed, evidence-based clinical randomized controlled trial studies are therefore needed to confirm the effects of acupuncture on IR. Numerous experimental studies have demonstrated that acupuncture can correct various metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia, overweight, hyperphagia, hyperlipidemia, inflammation, altered activity of the sympathetic nervous system and insulin signal defect, all of which contribute to the development of IR. In addition, acupuncture has the potential to improve insulin sensitivity. The evidence has revealed the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of acupuncture, though further investigations are warranted.