The number of diabetics is now on the increase in Japan. It was said several ten years ago that diabetics could not live long. Now, however, they can live as long as healthy people with advanced medical care.
The recent treatment of diabetes is done chiefly to prevent complications. Nevertheless, there are no effective treatments to prevent complications except for basic therapy such as diet or exercise. In the 51st conference of the Japan Endocrinological Society (1978), we reported the effects of acupuncture on alloxan-induced pancreatic island injury of DDY mice. We report here a clinical study on a patient with diabetes: Acupuncture therapy was applied to the patient, and observation on changes in the diabetic condition such as subjective symptoms or blood sugar value, and in some phisical and chemical findings which indicate complications, was undertaken.
CASE REPORT
A patient with a long history of diabetes, who had been diagnosed in 1959, showed drastically changed symptoms since that time. When first examined in our clinic, fasting blood sugar (FBS) was 328mg/dl. The patient complained of amblyopia caused by diabetic cataract, malaise, anorexia, shoulder stiffness, a sensation of fullness in the abdomen, etc. On and after July 31, 1981, acupuncture therapy was applied everyday or every other day.
After the institution of acupuncture therapy, the subjective symptoms were gradually improved. FBS fell into the normal level (105mg/dl) on Aug. 17, 1982. The influence of another therapy which the patient concurrently underwent was also discussed.

According to the recent advanced studies on diabetes mellitus, the types of the disease are complecated. So it is too difficult to do treatments for the patients. And then, it is important that the patients themselves must do self-controls such as taking special diet or doing specific exercise. And the purpose of treatment of diabetes is chiefly to prevent the advancement of the complications of the diseases.
The authors report here the curative effect of the acupuncture therapy on the patients suffering from diabetes mellitus with its complications in a various advanced stages. Three patients were done the acupuncture therapy who had clinically diagnosed as diabetes mellitus and the acupuncture therapy was applied everyday or several times a week. We observed clinically the changes of the diabetic conditions such as subjective symptoms or FBS (Fasting Blood Sugar Level).
Following the acupuncture therapy, the patients of three cases were reduced gradually the subjective symptoms and controled FBS to the normal level. However, when the intervals of acupuncture therapy were elongated or acupuncture therapy was postoponed, blood sugar levels showed an unstable tendency.
Therefore, the authors concluded that it was necessary to treat the diabetic patients with more longer and frequently with.

Human skin sections of the Goukoku (LI·4)-corresponding area and its surroudings were collected and they were stained with H. E. dyes. Abundant nerve fibers and blood vessels were observed in the Goukoku (LI·4)-corresponding area, while their numbers were slightly decreased in the non-acupoint area on the meridian. Their numbers in the extra-meridian non-acupoint area were the lowest.
Substance P-containing nerve fibers were examined by histochemistry in the same areas, and many of them were observed in the Goukoku (LI·4)-corresponding area. And further more, they were closely associated with lymphatic vessels. These findings suggest the mechanism that Substance-P secreted by the stimulation of acupoint, is transported to the lymph node via lymphatic vessels, thus leading the stimulation of the lymphatic system.
Lymphatic vessels with abundant smooth muscles were predominantly noted in the Goukoku (LI·4)-corresponding area and scarcely in the non-acupoint area by fluorescent stain. This finding suggests that hypersensitive one may feel the contraction of lymphatic smooth muscle induced by the Substance-P as a phenomenon of propagated sensations along the meridians (PSM).

To analyze the curative effects of moxibustion for rat diabetic hepatic injuries caused by the administration ofsteptozotocin (STZ), the authors designed ultrastructural studies using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and image processing.
Wistar male rats (44 animals) were divided into 4 groups. The first group (10 animals) was used as the control. The second group (14 animals) was a diabetic group injected I.P. with 50 mg/kg BW of STZ on the first experimental day. The third and fourth groups (10 animals each) were the curative groups, which were given moxibustion treatments of 5 half-rice grains of moxa, three times a week following STZ administration. Used acupoints were Tian Men (3rd group) and Tian Ping (4th group) according to the animal acupoint chart.
First, light and electron microscopices were used to observe, the hepatic parenchymal cells, and light and electron micrographs were obtained. The electron micrographs were used to analyze the distribution of glycogen granules including its glycogen areas, fat droplets and autophagic vacuoles using an image processing method.
The results were as follows : Normal control hepatocytes contained moderate volumes of glycogen areas and glycogen granules, but a few hepatocytes were without fat droplets or autophagic vacuoles. On the other hand, thehepatocytes, that had been treated with only STZ, were injured, and contained a number of fat droplets andautophagic vacuoles, but glycogen areas and glycogen granules had decreased. The hepatocytes of the rats treatedwith both STZ and moxibustion recovered to their normal state, suggesting that moxibustion treatment had curativeeffects for the rat hepatic dabetic injuries caused by the administration of STZ.

In recent years there is much talk of prevention or early detection of diseases. The number of persons undergoing complete general testing and physical examinations has increased. However among the patients coming to the acupuncture clinic are persons who upon undergoing physical examinations at hospitals were told results showed nothing wrong and yet they continue to experimence subjective or non-objective symptoms. Concerned with this problem I checked the distribution of patients coming to the clinic.
1, 838 persons from among the 2, 297 new patients who visited our clinic during the 5 years, 2-months from Oct. 1, 1973 to Dec. 30, 1980 who had been diagnosed by a physician were used as subjects of this examination. Results indicated that of these 1, 838 persons 258 or in other words, 14% of the subjects were experiencing subjective or non-objective symptoms.
I reported on the 1, 649 patients who visited the clinic in 1974, however, as together with this discussion some interesting results concerning the patient distribution of non-“subjective and non-objective symptom” patients were obtained, I'd like to also report on these.

In this study we investigated the effects of electric acupuncture on in vitro functions of lymphocytes, especially mitogen responses and natural killer (NK) activities of peripheral lymphocytes from normal individuals.
Normal young adults were inserted chinese needles into two specific needle points, which were determined by means of chinese diagnostic procedures of radial arteries. The electric current were 5Hz, 2Volt for 5 minutes. There was a tendency to increase phytohaemoaggultinin (PHA) or concanavalin A (Con A) responses of lymphocytes immediatly after acupuncture, but no significant changes. However, there was a significant (p=0.05) increase of pookweed.mitogen (PWM) responses immediatly after acupuncture. NK activities were measured by a ⁵¹Cr release assays. NK activities were enhanced significantly (p=0.05) immediatry after acupuncture. Moreover these changes of mitogen responses and NK activities were shown only when stimulated at specific acupuncture points. Most prominent changes were observed immediately after acupuncture, and the changes in parts continued after 4 hours.

In this study we investigated the effects of electric acupuncture on in vivo function of cell-mediated immunity, especially Mountoux reaction (PPD skin test) in normal individuals.
Normal young adults were inserted Chinese needles into two specific needle points, which were determined by means of chinese diagnostic procedures of radial arteries. The electric current were 5Hz, 2volt for 5 minutes.
One of the normal individuals showed negative reaction of PPD skin test, and 6 of them showed weak positive reaction. These 7 persons were done the second PPD skin test at 2 months after initial skin test, and they were treated with electric acupuncture immediately before skin test. 3 of them showed strong positive reaction of second skin test with electric acupuncture. Moreover, area of erythema induced by skin reaction become larger than first skin test in all of them. These results suggested that electric acupuncture would augment the in vivo cell-mediated immune reaction.

We investgated the effect of electric acupuncture on peripheral T lymphocyte subset from normal individuals, analysed by laser flow cytometric system with monoclonal antibodies for human T lymphocyte subset.
OKT3⁺ cells (peripheral T cells) and OKT4⁺ cells (helper/inducer cells) did not show any changes after electric acupuncture. OKT8⁺ cells (suprressor/cytotoxic T cells), however, OKT11⁺ cells (E rosette positive T cells) and Leu7⁺ cells (natural killer cells) increased and Leu11⁺ cells (another population of natural killer cells) decreased after electric acupuncture.
These changes of peripheral T lymphocyte subsets would suggest that electric acupuncture effects human immune system.

Recently it is well known that human immune system is regulated by various other biological response systems; endocrine and nervous system. We have investigated the effect of electric acupuncture on human immune system for several years. Those studies suggest that electric acupuncture affects human immune system via neuro-immune system. In the present study we investigated the effect of endorphin on human peripheral lymphocytes.
At the present concentration of endorphin and naloxone there were no effect on viability of lymphocytes. ³H-thymidine up take of unstimulated lymphocytes were suppressed by a appropriate concentration of endorphin or naloxone. The mitogenic responsiveness of peripheral lymphocytes was suppressed at usual concentration of naloxone and higher concentration of endorphin.
In these data suggested that both of intrisic and extrinsic endorphin regulated human lymphocyte responsiveness.

Although the efficacy of acupuncture in treatment of various diseases has been empirically established, systematic demonstration of this point has been rarely made. Our animal experiments designed to prove the efficacy of acupuncture on a scientific basis are reviewed here.
Each of the following experiments was carried out on two to five groups of mice. Mice in acupuncture group (A-animals) were acupunctured at four to seventeen points on every second or third day beginning with the first experimental day.
Exp. I. The preventive effect of acupuncture on acute poisoning by carbon tetrachloride-With carbon tetrachloride (4.16g/kg body weight) injected in the abdominal cavity on the 18th exp. day, all the non-acupunctured mice (N-animals) died in 72 hours after the administration, while 16% of the A-animals survived.
Exp. II. The curative effect of acupuncture on subacute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride. -Carbon tetrachloride (3.47g/kg b. w.) was administered on the 17th exp. day in the same manner as Exp. I. Levallorphan tartrate (antagonist to narcotics) was given to half of the A-animals (L+A-animals) and control animals (L-animals) before each session of acupuncture. Electron microscopic examination revealed severely injured liver cells in the N-animals and very little changes in the A-animals. The liver of L+A-animals was injured to some extent. Since the explanation of toxicity of levallorphan was refuted by the L-animals, this result suggests that some narcotic substances play a role in the process.
Exp. III. The effect of acupuncture on alloxan diabetes. -Alloxan (6mg) was administered on the 8th exp. day, and the animals were sacrificed on the 30th or 46th exp. day for examination. The N-animals showed extremely high blood sugar, though the A-animals did not. Ultrastructural study revealed that characteristic changes of alloxan diabetes in the pancreas had almost disappeared from the A-animals.
Exp. IV. The effect of acupuncture on renal injury induced by mercuric chloride. -With mercuric chloride (0.2mg/100g b. w.) administered three times a week, 10% of the N-animals and none of the A-animals died during the three-month period. Fairly heavy proteinuria (30-100mg/ml) was detected in the N-animals, though uria of A-animals was almost normal. After a one-month period, the N-animals showed a significant weight loss compared to the A-animals. Through the use of the electron microscope, severe injuries were seen in the epithelium of the renal tubules of the N-animals, and healed injuries in that of the A-animals.
Ultrastructural evidence has been presented that acupuncture is effective in (1) preventing and curing liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride, (2) curing alloxan diabetes, (3) curing nephritis induced by mercuric chloride. Our hypothesis suggesting the possible mechanism that underlies these effects produced by acupuncture has been briefly explained.