Acupuncture for schizophrenia

The effects of acupuncture on depression by regulating BDNF-related balance via lateral habenular nucleus BDNF/TrkB/CREB signaling pathway in rats

Depression is a major mental disease worldwide, causing dysfunction of Lateral Habenular (LHb). As a non-invasive alternative, acupuncture (AP) has been widely used to treat depression in clinic, yet few basic studies have been focused on the effects and mechanism of acupuncture on synaptic plasticity in LHb. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential mechanism of the antidepressant effect of acupuncture. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control, chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), AP, fluoxetine (FLX), acupoint catgut embedding (ACE), sham-ACE groups (n = 9/group). Rats were given a 28-day treatment at the Shangxing (GV23) and Fengfu (GV16) acupoints with acupuncture, ACE, sham-ACE or fluoxetine (2.1 mg/kg). The results showed that AP, FLX and ACE suppressed the behavioral deficits, increased the level of the 5-hydroxytryptamine and FNDC5/IRISIN in serum, also reduced the expression of pro-BDNF impacted by CUMS. Both AP and FLX ameliorated the %area of IBA-1, GFAP, BrdU and DCX in the LHb and increased the expression of BDNF/TrkB/CREB, with non-significant difference between the two groups These findings suggest that AP therapy relieves depression-related manifestations in depressed rats, suggesting a potential mechanism via the BDNF/TrkB/CREB pathway in LHb.

Role of Acupuncture in the Treatment of COPD: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

BACKGROUND

Since consistent evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not available, this overview aims to summarize and critically evaluate the methodological and evidence quality of systematic reviews (SRs) on this topic.

METHODS

Eight electronic databases were searched to identify relevant SRs of the use of acupuncture in the treatment of COPD from inception to January 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and cross-checked the data. The Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) list was used to assess the methodological quality of SRs. The Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to assess the quality of evidence for the outcomes of interest.

RESULTS

Nine SRs that conducted quantitative syntheses were included in this overview. The methodological quality of the SRs and the quality of evidence for the main outcome measures were generally unsatisfactory. Only 2 SRs were rated as low methodological quality by AMSTAR 2, and the remaining SRs were rated as critically low quality. The key limitations of the SRs were lack of a protocol and registration or a list of excluded studies. We did not find high-quality evidence to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture for COPD, and the main reason was that the qualitative data synthesis relied on trials with small sample sizes and critically low quality.

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture appears to be an effective therapeutic method for COPD, but the credibility of the results is limited owing to the generally low methodological quality and evidence quality of the included SRs. Further rigorous and comprehensive studies are required to provide robust evidence and draw definitive conclusions.

Acupuncture as Add-On Treatment of the Positive, Negative, and Cognitive Symptoms of Patients with Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review

Background: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that has a large impact on patients' lives. In addition to Western medicine, the use of additional treatments, such as acupuncture, in treating the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms is increasing. Methods: We conducted a systematic review on the use of acupuncture as an add-on treatment for patients with schizophrenia that are in regular care, with a special focus on the treatment of the often accompanying sleep disorders. In this study, we searched the Medline, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ERIC databases with a cut-off date of 31 December 2017, thereby following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocol. Results: Our search resulted in 26 eligible studies with 1181 patients with schizophrenia who received acupuncture treatment. Most studies showed limited evidence for the use of acupuncture as add-on therapy in the treatment of the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms, but beneficial effects have been reported in the treatment of the accompanying sleep disorders. Conclusions: Limited evidence was found for the use of acupuncture as add-on therapy in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia; however, positive results were found in the treatment of sleep disorders, but this result needs to be confirmed in large, randomized, controlled trials.

Mechanisms of acupuncture on vascular dementia-A review of animal studies

Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second leading type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease plaguing the aging population. Acupuncture has served as alternative and complementary medicine in the world for a long time and its use for VaD is based on a large body of preclinical and clinical researches. The mechanisms that underlie the protective effects of acupuncture are slowly beginning to be understood. Acupuncture influences multiple aspects of the pathological process of VaD. It improves cognitive function through protecting cerebral neurons from oxidative stress, apoptosis, and neuroinflammation, regulating glucose metabolism and neurotransmitters. Acupuncture may also improve synaptic plasticity and blood vessel function. It is likely that no single factor can explain the protection provided by acupuncture. This review provides a comprehensive overview of established and recent findings in animal-based researches aiming to elucidate the complex mechanisms of acupuncture on VaD.