Acupuncture seems to offer an additional benefit to the treatment of hypertensive patients.

Bee venom acupuncture (BVA) is an effective treatment for chronic low back pain (CLBP) through the pharmacological effects of bee venom and the simultaneous stimulation of acupoints. However, evidence of its efficacy and safety in humans remains unclear. Using a double-blind, randomized study, 54 patients with non-specific CLBP were assigned to the BVA and sham groups. All participants underwent six sessions of real or sham BVA for 3 weeks, in addition to administration of 180 mg of loxonin per day. The primary outcome, that is, “bothersomeness” derived from back pain, was assessed using the visual analog scale. Secondary outcomes included pain intensity, dysfunction related to back pain (Oswestry Disability Index), quality of life (EuroQol 5-Dimension), and depressive mood (Beck’s depression inventory). Outcomes were evaluated every week during the treatment period and followed up at weeks 4, 8, and 12. After 3 weeks of the treatment, significant improvements were observed in the bothersomeness, pain intensity, and functional status in the BVA group compared with the sham group. Although minimal adverse events were observed in both groups, subsequent recovery was achieved without treatment. Consequently, our results suggest that it can be used along with conventional pharmacological therapies for the treatment of CLBP.

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BVA combined with physiotherapy remains clinically effective 1 year after treatment and may help improve long-term quality of life in patients with AC of the shoulder.

Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely practiced for the treatment of osteoarthritic (OA) pain, but its therapeutic mechanisms have not yet been fully studied, especially in the experimental OA rat model. In order to induce collagenase-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats, male Sprague-Dawley rats were intra-articularly injected with 0.05 ml of 4 mg/ml collagenase solution in the left knee of the hind limb, followed by a booster injection 4 days later. Maximal gross, histopathological features and biomarker activity changes consistent with human OA characteristics were observed four weeks after the first collagenase injection. In the exploratory preliminary study of EA stimulation parameters, low-frequency train pulse EA stimulation (2 Hz, 0.07 mA, 0.3 ms) delivered to the Zusanli (ST36) acupoint exerted an antinociceptive effect with acupoint specificity in a rat model of CIA. The antinociceptive effect of Zusanli EA was blocked by intraperitoneal pretreatment with naloxone (μ-opioid receptor antagonist, 2 mg/kg) and naltrindole (δ-opioid receptor antagonist, 1 mg/kg), but not with norbinaltophimine (κ-opioid receptor antagonist, 20 mg/kg). The synergistic antinociceptive effects of Zusanli EA were achieved with statistical significance by i.p. pretreatment with DAMGO (μ-opioid receptor agonist, 1 mg/kg) and with [D-Ala2]-Deltorphin II (δ-opioid receptor agonist, 6 mg/kg), but not with (±)-U-50488 (κ-opioid receptor agonist, 3 mg/kg). These results suggest that the 2-Hz EA can attenuate the osteoarthritic pain in CIA, and the analgesic effects of EA can be mediated by μ-opioid and δ-opioid, but not by κ-opioid receptors.