Effects of Ion Cyclotron Frequencies on Human Resistance and Reactance in 31 Healthy Subjects

In order to test the theory of Brizhik et al. about the dynamic allocation of acupuncture meridians on human body and their role as hydric paths for solitons, we tested the effect of both acupuncture and exposure to extremely low frequencies (ELF) tuned with suitable ion cyclotron frequencies. The similarity of the effects, inducing variations of body impedance measured in well-known acupuncture points, up to the interchangeability and the synergy of the two treatments, the mechanic and the electromagnetic ones, turns to be evidence of the validity of the theory. Resistance and reactance variations have been detected in a group of 31 healthy volunteers before and after stimulation with a standard sequence of cyclotron frequencies, emitted from an innovative electromagnetic therapy (EMT) device. These variations were then compared with the variations produced by the well-known percutaneous stimuli of mechanical and piezoelectric nature, and, in particular in this work, acupuncture. Our results show that the observed variations can be considered as significant in both groups: cyclotron and acupuncture. The greater variations brought about by the cyclotron treatment stand out clearly.

Low Electrical Resistance Properties of Acupoints: Roles of NOergic Signaling Molecules and Neuropeptides in Skin Electrical Conductance

Early studies from several independent laboratories demonstrated that acupoints possess the characteristics of low electrical resistance. New devices are developing to increase the reliability of electrical skin impedance measurements for counteracting the factors including skin dryness, skin thickness, size of the sensing electrode, pressure applied on the electrode, interelectrode distance, room temperature, and humidity. Morphological studies have identified that blood vessels, hair follicles, and nervous components are enhanced in the meridians/acupoints, which represent areas of potentially high neuronal activity. Recent evidence shows that nitric oxide (NO) concentrations are enhanced in skin acupoints/meridians. L-arginine-derived NO synthesis modifies skin norepinephrine (NE) synthesis/release in acupoints/meridians, and NO-NE activations play an important role in mediating the skin conductance responses to electrical stimulation. NOergic signaling molecules interact with gap junction and transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1. Other studies reported that the high conductance at acupoints is a result of the release of the neuropeptides substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide during neurogenic inflammation in the referred pain area. Pathological body conditions caused considerable changes in skin conductance or impedance at acupoints. Although systematic research with an improved equipment and research design to avoid the influencing factors are requested for a definite answer in this field, the results from anatomical and biochemical studies consistently show that acupoints exist higher levels of nervous components, and NOergic signaling molecules and neuropeptides involved in the skin low resistance at acupoints. The increased interest in the acupoints/meridians has led to an open-minded attitude towards understanding this system, which is fundamental important to establish the valid aspects of scientific basis of Chinese medicine mechanisms and therapies.

Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapeutics: An Overview of the Basics and Clinical Applications

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a systematic healthcare system developed from clinical experience based on a scientific model of regulation. TCM relies on unique theories and practices to treat diseases and enhance health. These practices include Chinese herbal medicine and dietetics, acupuncture and moxibustion, and other non-medication therapies such as Chinese bodywork or manual therapy, known as "Tuina", and traditional biofeedback exercises, known as "Qigong" and "Taijiquan". The integration of TCM in Western health systems and research requires a rational communicable theory, scientific proof of efficacy and safety, and quality control measures. Understanding the structural concepts of the TCM language makes possible the parallelism to Western physiology, and the inherent rational use of the reflex therapeutic systems, anti-inflammatory mechanisms and mental training involved, for example, in acupuncture and "Qigong". The results of TCM clinical trials and fundamental research on its nature and mechanisms have encouraged the development and application of well-designed research strategies such as double blinding in acupucture to overcome limitations and resistances in integrating these practices into the existing biomedical paradigms of the West. This review aims to overview some TCM theoretical concepts and the evidence-based clinical application of TCM's leading practices to create an easy-to-consult and condensed source of information, available for the healthcare community, facilitating the understanding and communication between conventional health professionals and TCM practitioners and acupuncturists.

Acupuncture in the Rehabilitation of Women after Breast Cancer Surgery – a Case Series

Objective

To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on rehabilitation of motor function, reduction in lymphoedema and improvement in perceived heaviness and tightness in the arms of women who had undergone breast cancer surgery.

Subjects and Methods

Twenty nine women who had had mastectomy or segmentectomy with axillary dissection, presenting with lymphoedema and/or a decrease in movement amplitude of the upper limb ipsilateral to surgery were studied. The patients underwent 24 acupuncture sessions once a week from February to December 2004. The movement amplitude of shoulder flexion and abduction and circumferential measurements of the arm, forearm and wrist were evaluated before and after one, three and six months of treatment. Statistical analysis was performed by Friedman's test.

Results

Significant improvements in range of movement of shoulder flexion and abduction (P<0.001), degree of lymphoedema (P=0.016), and sense of heaviness and tightening (P<0.001) in the affected limb after six months of therapy were observed. For circumferential measurements of the arm, forearm and wrist, no significant improvement between the different periods of treatment was observed.

Conclusions

Acupuncture in rehabilitation after breast cancer surgery was shown to be associated with improvements in movement amplitude of the shoulder, symptoms of heaviness and tightness in the arm, and the degree of lymphoedema. However, controlled trials should be performed to ascertain whether the results were due to the natural history of the complaint or the acupuncture treatment.

Implications of 'postmodern biology' for pathology: the Cell Doctrine

Recent insights regarding stem cells, repression and de-repression of gene expression, and the application of Complexity Theory to cell and molecular biology require a re-evaluation of many long-held dogmas regarding the nature of the human body in health and disease. Greater than expected cell plasticity, trafficking of cells between organs, 'cellular uncertainty', stochasticity of cell origins and fates, and a reconsideration of Cell Doctrine itself all logically follow from these observations and conceptual approaches. In this paper, these themes will be considered and some implications for the investigative pathologist will be explored.

Effects of nitric oxide and noradrenergic function on skin electric resistance of acupoints and meridians

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of L-arginine-derived nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and noradrenergic function on skin electrical resistance of acupoints and meridians.

DESIGN

Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital. Low skin-resistance points (LSRP; BL 56, PC 6, CV 17), non-LSRP positions (along the meridians), and non- LSRP, non-meridian control positions (adjacent to but not along the meridians) were determined on the skin surface by measurements of the skin stimulus-evoked electrical currents. The effects of L-arginine-derived NO synthesis and noradrenergic function on the currents, representing skin electrical resistance, were examined in the LSRP, non-LSRP, and non-meridian control points.

RESULTS

The skin stimulus-evoked electrical currents at BL 56 (36.4 +/- 1.4 microA), PC 6 (35.4 +/- 1.2), and CV 17 (33.1 +/- 1.4) were significantly higher than those in non-LSRP and non-meridian control positions (p < 0.01, n = 7). The currents were consistently increased after repeated stimulation along the skin as a function of time. Intravenous injections of L-arginine (3 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 30 mg/kg) and 3-morpholinyl-sydnoneimine (SIN-1; 1 microg/kg, 3 microg/kg, and 10 microg/kg) produced dose-dependent increases in the currents (p < 0.05, n = 5-6), but currents were not altered by injections of D-arginine (3 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 30 mg/kg). Stimulus-evoked increases in currents were blocked by intravenous injections of either N (G)-propyl-L-arginine (NPLA, 3 mg/kg), N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10 mg/kg), or guanethidine (3 mg/kg), a noradrenergic blockade.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first evidence showing that L-arginine-derived NO synthesis and noradrenergic transmission modify the skin electric conductance of LSRP. L-Arginine-derived NO synthesis appears to mediate noradrenergic function on skin sympathetic nerve activation, which contributes to low resistance characteristics of acupoints and meridians.