The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the purinergic receptor P2X 3 in the peripheral and central nervous systems during acupuncture treatment for the visceral pain of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A total of 24 8-day-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) neonatal male rats (SPF grade) were stimulated using colorectal distention (CRD) when the rats were awake. The modeling lasted for 2 weeks with one stimulation per day. After 6 weeks, the rats were randomly divided into three groups of eight each: (1) the normal group (NG, n= 8); (2) the model group (MG, n=8); and (3) the model+ electroacupuncture group (EA, n = 8) that received electroacupuncture at a needling depth of 5 mm at the Shangjuxu (ST37, bilateral) and Tianshu (ST25, bilateral) acupoints. The parameters of the Han's acupoint nerve stimulator (HANS) were as follows: sparse-dense wave with a frequency of 2/100 Hz, current of 2 mA, 20 min/stimulation, and one stimulation per day; the treatment was provided for seven consecutive days. At the sixth week after the treatment, the abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) score was determined; immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were used to measure the expression of the P2X 3 receptor in myenteric plexus neurons, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex; and, a real-time PCR assay was performed to measure the expression of P2X 3 messenger RNA (mRNA) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord. After stimulation with CRD, the expression levels of the P2X 3 receptor in the intercolonic myenteric plexus, DRG, spinal cord, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex were upregulated, and the sensitivity of the rats to IBS visceral pain was increased. Electroacupuncture (EA) could downregulate the expression of the P2X 3 receptor and ease the sensitivity to visceral pain. The P2X 3 receptor plays an important role in IBS visceral pain. The different levels of P2X 3 in the peripheral enteric nervous system and central nervous system mediate the effects of the EA treatment of the visceral hyperalgesia of IBS.

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Background. Clinical studies suggest that acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in ulcerative colitis (UC) can regulate bowel inflammation, and these treatments have the advantages of low rates of adverse reactions and recurrence as well as good long-term efficacy. We reviewed the current status of clinical studies of the treatment. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the therapy as the major intervention for treating UC were included from 1995 to 2015. The extracted data mainly included diagnostic standards, treatment methods, selection of acupoints, treatment times and courses, and efficacy determination criteria. Results. The use of diagnostic standards and efficacy criteria lacked unification and standardization. There were two main groups: acupuncture and moxibustion therapy combined with drug treatment and the use of all types of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy alone or in combination. The acupoint compositions included distal-proximal point combinations, back-shu point and front-mu point combinations, and acupuncture through meridians. The treatment courses in all the clinical trials had large variations. Conclusion. The treatment of UC in the examined articles was mainly based on the classical theory. However, many links of the clinical regimen design were still lacking, which affected the repeatability of the clinical studies and the accuracy of the clinical conclusions.

It is currently accepted that the neural transduction pathways of gastrointestinal (GI) visceral pain include the peripheral and central pathways. Existing research on the neurological mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in the treatment of GI visceral pain has primarily been concerned with the regulation of relevant transduction pathways. The generation of pain involves a series of processes, including energy transduction of stimulatory signals in the sensory nerve endings (signal transduction), subsequent conduction in primary afferent nerve fibers of dorsal root ganglia, and transmission to spinal dorsal horn neurons, the ascending transmission of sensory signals in the central nervous system, and the processing of sensory signals in the cerebral cortex. Numerous peripheral neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and cytokines participate in the analgesic process of EA in visceral pain. Although EA has excellent efficacy in the treatment of GI visceral pain, the pathogenesis of the disease and the analgesic mechanism of the treatment have not been elucidated. In recent years, research has examined the pathogenesis of GI visceral pain and its influencing factors and has explored the neural transduction pathways of this disease.

Acupuncture combined with medicine is better than just electroacupuncture for obese PCOS patients by improving obesity-related indexes, insulin sensitivity, and APN level. This indicates that acupuncture-medicine therapy is worth clinical popularization.