Zhou EH, Wang XM, Ding GH, Wu HG, Qi L, Liu HR, Zhang SJ. Suspended moxibustion relieves chronic visceral hyperalgesia and decreases hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone levels. World J Gastroenterol 2011; 17(5): 662-665 [PMID: 21350717 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i5.662]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Dr. Huan-Gan Wu, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 650 South WanPing Road, XuHui district, Shanghai 200030, China. wuhuangan@126.com
Article-Type of This Article
Brief Article
Open-Access Policy of This Article
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En-Hua Zhou, Guang-Hong Ding, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
En-Hua Zhou, Xiao-Mei Wang, Huan-Gan Wu, Li Qi, Hui-Rong Liu, Shu-Jing Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Guang-Hong Ding, Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridians, Shanghai 200433, China
Author contributions: Zhou EH and Ding GH performed the majority of experiments; Wu HG, Wang XM and Qi L provided vital reagents and analytical tools and were also involved in editing the manuscript; Liu HR and Zhang SJ analyzed the data; Zhou EH and Wu HG designed the study and wrote the manuscript.
Supported by The National Basic Research Program of China (973 program), No. 2009CB522900; the Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project, No. S30304; and Shanghai Foundation for Development of Science and Technology, China, No. 08DZ1973000
Correspondence to: Dr. Huan-Gan Wu, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 650 South WanPing Road, XuHui district, Shanghai 200030, China. wuhuangan@126.com
Telephone: +86-21-64644238 Fax: +86-21-64644238
Received: August 9, 2010 Revised: September 14, 2010 Accepted: September 21, 2010 Published online: February 7, 2011
Abstract
AIM: To evaluate the effect of suspended moxibustion (SM) on rectal sensory thresholds and to analyze the possible mechanisms involved in SM treatment of chronic visceral hypersensitivity (CVH) in rats.
METHODS: SM was administered once daily to 37-d-old CVH rats for 7 d. The two pairs of acupoints (ST25 and ST37, bilateral) were simultaneously treated with SM. Each treatment lasted for 30 min. Rats undergoing treatment with SM were not anesthetized. Untreated CVH rats and normal rats were used as controls. The abdominal withdrawal reflex was determined 30-90 min after the seven treatments. The hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA level was measured using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS: We found that SM treatment significantly decreased visceral sensitivity to colorectal distention in this rat model. In treated animals, SM also decreased the relative hypothalamic CRH mRNA expression level to control levels.
CONCLUSION: Lower hypothalamic CRH levels may mediate the beneficial effects of SM in this rat irritable bowel syndrome model.
