Electroacupuncture suppresses discrete cue-evoked heroin-seeking and fos protein expression in the nucleus accumbens core in rats

Laser meridian massage decreased craving in men with opioid use disorder on methadone maintenance treatment

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

2 Hz EA Reduces Heroin Withdrawal-Induced Hyperalgesia and Heroin Relapse by Downregulating P2X3 Receptors in DRG Neurons

Electroacupuncture (EA) has effective analgesic effects. Our previous study demonstrated that the upregulation of P2X3 receptors in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) might participate in heroin withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia. The aim of this study is to further explore whether 2 Hz EA reduces heroin relapse associated with its analgesic effect and whether P2X3 receptors in the DRG are involved in this process. 2 Hz EA was adopted to treat the heroin SA rats in the present study. Heroin-seeking and pain sensitivity were evaluated. The expression of P2X3 receptors in the DRG was detected. Our results showed that compared with the control group, the reinstatement, thermal hyperalgesia, and mechanical allodynia of the heroin-addicted group were increased significantly. The expression of P2X3 receptors in the DRG was increased markedly. After being treated using 2 Hz EA, reinstatement was reduced, hyperalgesia was decreased, and the upregulated expression of P2X3 receptors in the DRG had decreased significantly compared to that in the heroin-addicted group. Consequently, our results indicated that 2 Hz EA was an effective method for treating heroin-induced hyperalgesia and helping prevent relapse, and the potential mechanism might be related to the downregulation of P2X3 receptor expression in the DRG.

2Hz-Electroacupuncture Attenuates Heroin-Seeking Behaviors via Adjusts CB1-Rs and CB2-Rs Expression in Relapse-Relevant Brain Regions of Heroin Self-Administration Rats

Opiate addiction has a high rate of relapse. The accumulating evidence shows that electroacupuncture (EA) may be effective for the treatment of opiate relapse. However, the change of expression of CB1-Rs and CB2-Rs involve in 2Hz EA anti-relapse pathway is still unclear. To explore the changes of expression of CB1-Rs and CB2-Rs, heroin self-administration (SA) model rats were adopted and treated using 2Hz EA. The expressions of CB1-Rs and CB2-Rs were observed using immunohistochemistry method. The results showed that, compared with the control group, active pokes in the heroin-addicted group increased, while the active pokes decreased significantly in 2Hz EA group compared with heroin-addicted group. Correspondingly, the expression of CB1-Rs in prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (Hip), nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) all increased significantly while the expression of CB2-Rs in those relapse-relevant brain regions decreased obviously in heroin-addicted group when compared with the control group. In addition, the expression of CB1-Rs obviously decreased in the 2Hz EA group while the expression of CB2-Rs in those relapse-relevant brain regions increased significantly when compared with the heroin-addicted group. It indicated that 2Hz EA could attenuate the heroin-evoked seeking behaviors effectively. The anti-relapse effects of 2Hz EA might be related to the decrease of CB1-Rs and increase of CB2-Rs expression in relapse-relevant brain regions of heroin SA rats.

Acupuncture therapy for drug addiction

Acupuncture therapy has been used to treat substance abuse. This study aims to review experimental studies examining the effects of acupuncture on addiction. Research and review articles on acupuncture treatment of substance abuse published between January 2000 and September 2014 were searched using the databases ISI Web of Science Core Collection and EBSCO’s MEDLINE Complete. Clinical trial studies on the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for substance abuse were classified according to substance (cocaine, opioid, nicotine, and alcohol), and their treatment protocols, assessments, and findings were examined. A total of 119 studies were identified, of which 85 research articles addressed the efficacy of acupuncture for treating addiction. There were substantial variations in study protocols, particularly regarding treatment duration, frequency of electroacupuncture, duration of stimulation, and choice of acupoints. Contradictory results, intergroup differences, variation in sample sizes, and acupuncture placebo effects made it difficult to evaluate acupuncture effectiveness in drug addiction treatment. This review also identified a lack of rigorous study design, such as control of confounding variables by incorporating sham controls, sufficient sample sizes, reliable assessments, and adequately replicated experiments.