Puntos De Acupuntura Para Migraña

Int J Mol Med. 2012 Jul 24. doi: 10.3892/ijmm.2012.1074. [Epub ahead of print]
Electroacupuncture at the Quchi and Zusanli acupoints exerts neuroprotective role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injured rats via activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway.
Chen A, Lin Z, Lan L, Xie G, Huang J, Lin J, Peng J, Tao J, Chen L.
Source
College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of TraditionalChinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
Abstract
The PI3K/Akt pathway, a critical mediator of cell survival, is suppressed in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury; therefore, it is a major focus in treatment of ischemic stroke. Acupuncture has long been used in China to clinically treat stroke. However, the precise mechanism of its neuroprotective activitiesremains largely unknown. Using a focal cerebral I/R injured rat model, in the present study we evaluated the in vivo therapeutic efficacy of electroacupuncture and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms. We found that electroacupuncture at Quchi (LI11) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints on the contralateral paralyzed limb significantly improved neurological deficits and cerebral infarction. Inaddition, electroacupuncture profoundly activated PI3K/Akt signaling in ischemic cerebral tissues. Consequently, the upregulatory effect of electroacupuncture on PI3K/Akt activation resulted in the inhibition of cerebral cell apoptosis. Moreover, electroacupuncture increased the serum secretion levels of the PI3K activators BDNF and GDNF, as well as upregulated the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2/Bax ratio inischemic cerebrum. Our data suggest that electroacupuncture at Quchi and Zusanli acupoints exerts neuroprotective function in ischemic stroke via activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway.

A PET-CT study on the specificity of acupoints through acupuncture treatment in migraine patients
Jie Yang,1 Fang Zeng,1 Yue Feng,1 Li Fang,4 Wei Qin,2 Xuguang Liu,1 Wenzhong Song,3 Hongjun Xie,3 Ji Chen,1 andFanrongLiang1
Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►
Go to:
-------------------------------------------------
Abstract
Background
In the field of acupuncture research, the topic of acupoint specificity has received increasing attention, but no unified conclusion has been reached on whether or not acupoint specificity exists. Furthermore, the majority of previousacupuncture neuroimaging studies have been performed using healthy subjects. In this study, patients with migraine were used to investigate acupoint specificity.
Methods
Thirty patients with migraine were enrolled and randomized into three groups: Traditional Acupuncture Group (TAG), Control Acupuncture Group (CAG), and Migraine Group (MG). The TAG was treated by acupuncture stimulation atWaiguan (TE5), Yang Lingquan (GB34), and Fengchi (GB20). The CAG was treated at Touwei (ST8), Pianli (LI6), and Zusanli (ST36). The MG received no treatment. Positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET-CT) was used to test for differences in brain activation between the TAG and CAG versus MG, respectively.
Results
Traditional acupuncture treatment was more effective for pain reductionthan control acupuncture treatment. The TAG showed higher brain metabolism than the MG in the middle temporal cortex (MTC), orbital frontal cortex (OFC), insula, middle frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, post-cingulate cortex (PCC), the precuneus, and the middle cingulate cortex (MCC). Metabolism decreased in the parahippocampus, hippocampus, fusiform gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and cerebellum in the TAGcompared with the MG. In the CAG, metabolism increased compared with the MG in the MTC, supratemporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and MCC, whereas metabolism decreased in the cerebellum.
Conclusions
Acupuncture stimulation of different points on similar body regions in migraine patients reduced pain and induced different levels of cerebral glucose metabolism in pain-related brain regions....