| Acupuncture, the ancient Chinese art used for more than 2000 years for the treatment of various kinds of diseases and symptoms. It is now become popular throughout the world, and has proved to be remarkably effective for the treatment of many diseases which are resistant to the conventional forms of therapy. Besides being free from the side effects commonly encountered in drug therapy, acupuncture is generally safe and effective when done by an appropriately trained practitioner. It also attracted a great number of basic researchers to observe the analgesic effect of acupuncture on animals and on human volunteers, to study the mechanisms underlying this seemingly unbelievable action. Recently, it has been stated that acupuncture offers a compelling and safe method for pain management analgesia, which is growing rapidly in popularity with veterinarians. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) issued joint guidelines for the management of pain in cats and dogs. The guidelines stated, "There is a solid and still growing body of evidence for the use of acupuncture for the treatment of pain in veterinary medicine to the extent that it is now an accepted treatment modality for painful animals."1. Physiological and biochemical effects of electroacupuncture combined with intramuscular administration of dexmedetomidine to provide analgesia in goatsObjective To investigate the physiological and biochemical effects of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with dexmedetomidine (dex) administration in goats.Animals Thirty healthy female adult crossbreed goats.Procedures Goats were randomly allotted to five groups:EA, two doses of dex (5 and 20 μg/kg, IM), EA plus dex (5 μg/kg, IM) and control (0.9% NaCl, instead of dex,IM). The pain threshold, cardiorespiratory effects, rectal temperature, and hematological and biochemical parameters were assessed.Results Dexmedetomidine (20 μg/kg) increased the pain threshold and decreased the heart rate, respiratory rate and rectal temperature. The pain threshold in goats undergoing EA plus dex (5 μg/kg) was higher than goats receiving EA at 30 minutes or dex (5 μg/kg) at 30 or 60 minutes, but did not differ from goats receiving dex (20 μg/kg). The heart rate in goats receiving EA plus dex (5 μg/kg) increased compared to goats dex (20 μg/kg) at 30 to 60 minutes; The respiratory rate in the former group was higher than the latter group during 10 to 60 minutes. EA plus dex (5 μg/kg) did not affect the rectal temperature. The serum glucose concentrations in goats treated with EA plus dex (5 μg/kg) increased compared to treatment with dex (5 μg/kg) at 30 or 60 minutes, but not with goats receiving (20 μg/kg). The concentrations of BUN and CR, the activities of ALT and AST, and the hematological parameters of all treated goats did not change.Conclusions and clinical relevance Electroacupuncture in combination with a low dose of dex (5 μg/kg, IM) can be safely used in goats for analgesia.2. Effect of Electroacupuncture on Activation of ERK1/2-IR cells in the Central Nervous System of Rats with Inflammatory PainObjective To investigate the activities of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) in the CNS to clarify the mechanisms underlying the dynamic changes in the descending pain modulatory system after peripheral inflammation in rats.Procedures The rats were randomly divided into four groups:(a) Control; (b) CFA; (c) CFA+EA; (d) CFA+Sham EA. Inflammatory pain was induced by injecting 0.1 ml CFA subcutaneously into left hind paw of animals. EA (constant square wave,2 Hz and 100 Hz alternating frequencies, and intensities ranging from 1-2 mA, each intensity for 15 min, totaling 30 min) was applied to bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Kunlun" acupoints (BL 60) for 30 min, once per day and started after CFA injection and repeated on days 1,3,5 and 7. The paw edema and paw withdrawal thresholds (PWTs) were measured at pre-injection and at 1h,7h, dl, d3 and d7 after saline/CFA injection. Rats were sacrificed, the brain stem and lumbar spinal cords segment were taken for detecting the expressions of p-ERK1/2, by immunohistochemistry analyses.Results CFA-induced hindpaw edema and decreased PWTs. EA, remarkably decreased (P<0.05) paw edema at day 7 and increased (P<0.01) PWTs of CFA injected rats at days 1,3 and 7. Moreover, the increasing number of SCDH and RVM p-ERK1/2-IR cells which was induced by CFA injection was significantly suppressed by repeated EA stimulation at days 1,3 and 7 post injections.Conclusions It is demonstrates that repeated EA stimulation have an inhibitory effect on CFA-induced hyperalgesia in rats, which may be mediated by inhibition of the activation of the pERK1/2 in the CNS. |
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