Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is very common in immune rheumatism, with high disease incidence and long course, hard to cure. The medicines and bio-preparation used in treating RA in modern medicine are difficult to spread and for long application owing to their unsatisfactory effect or much toxic or side effects. However, the acupuncture has definite effect without side effects. As the unique therapy in acupuncture field—abdominal acupuncture, can it bear the task of treating RA The article makes analysis and discussion on its availability.

Objective To compare the rapeutic effects of different acupoint combination applied with Rheumatoid Arthritis Cata-plasma on nuclear factor-? ? expression of CIA rats. Methods Induced arthritis rats back were endermic injected with type Ⅱ bovine collogen as animal models. There were five groups for comparison. NF-? ?, interleukin-1? (IL-1?) and tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) of synovial cell clear supernatant liquid were observed. Results NF-? ?, IL-1? and TNF-? scores in therapy groups were steped down. The scores of systematic selection (distant and near coordination) of acupoints was the most close to normal group. Conclusion Rheumatoid Arthritis Cata-plasma can down-regulation the expression of nuclear factor-?? and correlated cell factor density of CIA rats synovial cell and repress positive feedback. Therapeutic effect of distant and near coordination of acupoints is better than distant selection and local selection of acupoints, probably by treating appearance and substance simultaneously to multitarget effect.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of resuscitating acupuncture and scalp acupuncture on neurological function and high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) in serum in patients with acute cerebral infarction. Methods 90 patients with acute cerebral infarction were divided into three groups: drug, routine acupuncture and resuscitating acupuncture and scalp acupuncture groups in random. They were evaluated with NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) , Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) 0, 7, 14 d after treatment, and measured with the levels of hs-CRP. Results There were significant improvements for NIHSS and MRS scores in the resuscitating acupuncture and scalp acupuncture group compared with those of the others, as well as the levels of hs-CRP. Conclusion Resuscitating acupuncture and scalp acupuncture can reduce the level of hs-CRP and improve the neurological functions in patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Objective To test the efficacy of low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation plus rehabilitation training in improving swallowing function after stroke. MethodsEighty dysphagic stroke patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups of 40.Patients in the experimental group received low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation plus 2 courses of rehabilitation training.Control group patients received the same protocol,but the electrical stimulation was not over acupoints.Their swallowing function was assessed using the Kubota water drinking test.ResultsAfter treatment,both groups showed significantly lower Kubota scores compared with pre-treatment.Prepost test difference was 1.25 ± 0.78 in the experimental group and 0.70 ± 0.72 in the control group,a significant difference.The total recovery rate in the experimental group was 87.5％.In the control group it was 55％.The improvement in swallowing function was significantly better in the experimental group.Conclusion Both groups showed a significant improvement in swallowing function,but low-frequency electrical acupoint stimulation increased the effectiveness of the rehabilitation training.

Objective To observe the effects of a motor relearning programme (MRP) combined with different early acupuncture interventions on muscle tension and motor function recovery after cerebral infarction.MethodsA total of 90 patients with cerebral infarction who met the inclusion criteria were divided into three groups at random:a YANGMING meridian acupuncture and MRP group ( group A),an anti-spasm acupuncture and MRP group ( group B),and an MRP group ( group C ).All of the patients in all three groups were treated with routine medication.The National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS),the composite spasticity scale (CSS),Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA),the Fugl-Meyer balance scale (FM-B) and the modified Barthel index (MBI) were used to measure performance before treatment and after 4 weeks of treatment.Another comparison was intra-group between before and after treatment. ResultsThere were significant differences in the assessment results in all of the groups after treatment compared with those before treatment.After treatment,group B was superior to group C only in terms of NIHSS scores.There was no significant NIHSS score difference between groups A and C.The FMA,CSS and MBI results revealed significant differences among all three groups,with the scores of group A consistently the highest.The average FMA score in group B was significantly higher than in group C but there was no statistically significant difference in FM-B scores among the three groups. ConclusionMRP therapy combined with early acupuncture intervention can improve motor function and muscular tension after cerebral infarction.Anti-spasm acupuncture can improve motor function and control muscular tension effectively at the same time,making it beneficial for MRP training.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect difference among the staged acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation, traditional acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation, and conventional rehabilitation in the patients with ischemic stroke hemiplegia. METHODS: A total of 145 patients with ischemic stroke hemiplegia were randomly assigned into an observation group (49 cases), a control group A (49 cases) and a control group B (47 cases). All the patients were received aspirin tablets 100 mg orally, once a day. The staged acupuncture according to Brunnstrom's theory combined with conventional rehabilitation were used in the observation group, at the acupoints in the meridian during the flaccid paralysis phase, at the acupoints in the antagonistic muscle and the tendon of spastic dominant muscle during the spasm stage, and at the acupoints in the meridian and Taixi (KI 3), Guanyuan (CV 4) and Qihai (CV 6) during the sequela stage. Conventional traditional acupuncture at the acupoints in the meridian combined with conventional rehabilitation were applied in the control group A. Simple conventional rehabilitation was used in the control group B. Patients in the observation group and the control group A were received acupuncture and rehabilitation once a day from Monday to Friday, 2 weeks as 1 course; patients in the control group B were received the same rehabilitation as the observation group. The indexes were observed before treatment and at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks of treatment, including National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), short form Fugl-Meyer motor function assessment (FMA) scale, Fugl-Meyer balance (FM-B) scale, comprehensive spasm scale (CSS) and modified Barthel index (MBI). RESULTS: Compared with those before treatment, except the MBI score in the control group B after 2 weeks' treatment, the NIHSS, FMA, FM-B and MBI scores were improved in all three groups at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks of treatment (<0.01, <0.05). At the end of the 2nd week of treatment, the NIHSS and CSS scores were lower (<0.05, <0.01), the FMA, FM-B and MBI scores were higher (all <0.05) in the observation group and the control group A than those in the control group B. After 4, 6 and 8 weeks' treatment, the FMA, FM-B and MBI scores were higher (<0.05, <0.01), the NIHSS and CSS scores were lower (all <0.01) in the observation group than those of control group A and control group B; the FMA, FM-B and MBI scores in the control group A were higher than those in the control group B (<0.05, <0.01); the NIHSS and CSS scores in the control group A were lower than those in the control group B (<0.05, <0.01). CONCLUSION Staged acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation are consistent with the rehabilitation rule of patients with hemiplegia. They can improve motor function and the ability of daily life. They achieve better effect than traditional acupuncture combined with rehabilitation.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain Ischemia ; Hemiplegia ; therapy ; Humans ; Stroke ; Stroke Rehabilitation ; Treatment Outcome