Overweight and obesity have emerged as critical public health issues,posing significant threats to life expectancy and overall well-being,thereby underscoring the need for effective interventions.Electroacupuncture(EA)has shown confirmed efficacy in the treatment of simple obesity,with high safety and patient acceptance.However,its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood.This article synthesized current basic research on EA for obesity,indicated the pivotal role of central nervous system(CNS)regions,including the lateral hypothalamic area(LHA),arcuate nucleus(ARC),and ventromedial nucleus(VMH)in mediating EA-induced regulation of energy balance and metabolic homeostasis.Furthermore,EA regulates endocrine factors,immune system,inflammatory factors,and microbiota-gut-brain axis in the body is also an important pathway and target for its intervention in obesity.By sorting out the possible mechanisms of EA treatment for simple obesity,it could provide references for related research and clinical practice of this disease.

Objective To observe the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture in young and middle-aged women suffering from insomnia with liver-depression using liver-soothing and mind-regulating method.Methods Totally 76 female patients with insomnia of liver-depression were randomly divided to the acupuncture group and the sham-acupuncture group,with 38 cases in each group.The treatment group received acupuncture with the method of liver-soothing and mind-regulating,while the sham-acupuncture group used the same acupoints with simulated stimulation using blunt-tip needles.Treatment lasted 8 weeks,with a total of 18 sessions,as well as a 3-month follow-up period.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI),Insomnia Severity Index(ISI),and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)were measured before treatment,at the week 4 and week 8,and at 1-and 3-month follow-ups.The adverse reaction of both groups were monitored.Results Four cases in the acupuncture group and 2 cases in the sham-acupuncture group were lost.Compared with before treatment,the total score and factor scores of PSQI,ISI and SAS of the two groups at 4 and 8 weeks of treatment and the first and third months of follow-up significantly decreased(P<0.05);compared with the sham-acupuncture group at the same time point,the total score of PSQI,ISI and SAS in the acupuncture group decreased significantly at 8 weeks of treatment(P<0.05).No serious adverse events occurred in the two groups during the treatment.Conclusion The acupuncture of liver-soothing and mind-regulating method is a safe and effective treatment for improving sleep quality and anxious mood of young and middle-aged female patients with liver-depression type of insomnia.

The development of ulcerative colitis(UC)is closely related to genetic and environmental factors,impaired intestinal mucosal barrier function,intestinal immunological disorders and dysbiosis of intestinal bacterial flora.Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment has been emphasized for improving intestinal inflammation in UC.In this article,the mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion in alleviating UC was reviewed from the aspects of immune cells,inflammatory factors and intestinal flora,and believed that acupuncture may exert therapeutic effects by improving the immune homeostasis among T-lymphocytes,inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory factors including IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-8,regulating the abundance of different species of intestinal flora,modulating macrophage polarization,and inhibiting oxidative stress.The possible mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of UC was summarized to provide reference for the related research of inflammatory bowel disease.

Overweight and obesity have emerged as critical public health issues,posing significant threats to life expectancy and overall well-being,thereby underscoring the need for effective interventions.Electroacupuncture(EA)has shown confirmed efficacy in the treatment of simple obesity,with high safety and patient acceptance.However,its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood.This article synthesized current basic research on EA for obesity,indicated the pivotal role of central nervous system(CNS)regions,including the lateral hypothalamic area(LHA),arcuate nucleus(ARC),and ventromedial nucleus(VMH)in mediating EA-induced regulation of energy balance and metabolic homeostasis.Furthermore,EA regulates endocrine factors,immune system,inflammatory factors,and microbiota-gut-brain axis in the body is also an important pathway and target for its intervention in obesity.By sorting out the possible mechanisms of EA treatment for simple obesity,it could provide references for related research and clinical practice of this disease.

Objective To observe the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture in young and middle-aged women suffering from insomnia with liver-depression using liver-soothing and mind-regulating method.Methods Totally 76 female patients with insomnia of liver-depression were randomly divided to the acupuncture group and the sham-acupuncture group,with 38 cases in each group.The treatment group received acupuncture with the method of liver-soothing and mind-regulating,while the sham-acupuncture group used the same acupoints with simulated stimulation using blunt-tip needles.Treatment lasted 8 weeks,with a total of 18 sessions,as well as a 3-month follow-up period.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI),Insomnia Severity Index(ISI),and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)were measured before treatment,at the week 4 and week 8,and at 1-and 3-month follow-ups.The adverse reaction of both groups were monitored.Results Four cases in the acupuncture group and 2 cases in the sham-acupuncture group were lost.Compared with before treatment,the total score and factor scores of PSQI,ISI and SAS of the two groups at 4 and 8 weeks of treatment and the first and third months of follow-up significantly decreased(P<0.05);compared with the sham-acupuncture group at the same time point,the total score of PSQI,ISI and SAS in the acupuncture group decreased significantly at 8 weeks of treatment(P<0.05).No serious adverse events occurred in the two groups during the treatment.Conclusion The acupuncture of liver-soothing and mind-regulating method is a safe and effective treatment for improving sleep quality and anxious mood of young and middle-aged female patients with liver-depression type of insomnia.

The development of ulcerative colitis(UC)is closely related to genetic and environmental factors,impaired intestinal mucosal barrier function,intestinal immunological disorders and dysbiosis of intestinal bacterial flora.Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment has been emphasized for improving intestinal inflammation in UC.In this article,the mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion in alleviating UC was reviewed from the aspects of immune cells,inflammatory factors and intestinal flora,and believed that acupuncture may exert therapeutic effects by improving the immune homeostasis among T-lymphocytes,inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory factors including IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-8,regulating the abundance of different species of intestinal flora,modulating macrophage polarization,and inhibiting oxidative stress.The possible mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of UC was summarized to provide reference for the related research of inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture treatment,the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture in the treatment of abdominal obesity patients with stomach heat and dampness resistance type was observed by randomized controlled clinical trials.Methods 74 patients with stomach heat and dampness resistance type abdominal obesity recruited by Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital were randomly assigned to the electroacupuncture group and the control group(1∶1,37 patients in each group).The electroacupuncture group selected acupoints such as Zhongwan,Jianli,Xiawan,Bilateral Quchi,Hegu,Liangmen,Tianshu,Shuidao,Zusanli,Shangjuxu,Neiting,etc.After the needle was inserted,the patient was given Qi by using techniques such as lifting,inserting,twisting,and turning.The bilateral Liangmen and Tianshu transverse acupoints were selected to connect the electroacupuncture,and a continuous wave of 3 Hz was selected,with the intensity determined based on the patient's tolerance.The needle was left for 30 min.The control group received Streitberger comfort sham acupuncture at the same acupoint,and the flat headed needle was struck through a cannula without piercing the skin.The electroacupuncture device was connected to the same acupoint but not electrified.Both groups of patients received treatment three times a week for 30 min each time,a total of 36 times.The main outcome measure was waist to hip ratio.The secondary outcome measures were weight,blood lipids,and the impact of weight on quality of life scale(IWQOL-Lite)and food desire trait questionnaire(FCQ-T).Each indicator was recorded before and after treatment in both groups.Simultaneously record all medication usage during the treatment period and monitor adverse reactions.Results After treatment,the waist hip ratio and average weight of patients in the electroacupuncture group decreased significantly(P＜0.05).The levels of triglycerides and cholesterol decreased,and the scores of IWQOL-Lite and FCQ-T decreased,but there was no statistically significant difference before and after treatment.Compared with the control group,the waist hip ratio of patients in the electroacupuncture group was lower after treatment(P＜0.05).Conclusion Electroacupuncture can effectively improve abdominal obesity caused by stomach heat and dampness resistance,and is superior to sham acupuncture in reducing the waist hip ratio.

Objective To observe the expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)and protein kinase B(Akt)signal transducer in liver tissue of rats with bilateral ovarian castration(OVX)by electroacupuncture at Guanyuan(CV4)point,and explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture in up regulating PI3K/Akt signal pathway,regulating lipid metabolism,and reducing weight was investigated.Methods Thirty-two female SD rats were randomly divided into blank,sham operation,model and electroacupuncture group,with 8 rats in each group.Perimenopausal obesity(PMO)model was prepared by OVX in the model and the electroacupuncture group.After the model was successfully prepared,the electroacupuncture group was subjected to electroacupuncture at CV4(continuous wave,2 Hz,1 mA),once day,20 min once time,and for 14 consecutive days.The body mass of each group of rats was recorded during the whole experiment,and Lee's index was calculated during sampling.The pathological changes of liver were observed by HE staining.Serum levels of HDL,LDL and TG were detected by ELISA.Western blot analysis of PI3K,Akt,p-Akt protein expression and p-Akt/Akt in liver tissues.Results Compared with blank group and sham operation group,the body mass of rats in model group was significantly increased(P＜0.05),Lee's index was increased(P＜0.05),fat vacuoles appeared in liver,serum HDL level was decreased(P＜0.001),LDL and TG levels were increased(P＜0.01).PI3K,Akt,p-Akt,p-Akt/Akt were decreased in liver(P＜0.05).Compared with model group,body mass and Lee's index of rats in electroacupuncture group were decreased(P＜0.05),fat vacuoles in liver were decreased,HDL level was increased(P＜0.01),LDL and TG levels were decreased(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),PI3K,Akt and P-Akt were decreased(P＜0.05),and p-akt/Akt decreased(P＜0.01).Conclusion Electroacupuncture at CV4 can significantly up-regulate PI3K/Akt signaling pathway,improve lipid metabolism disorder and accumulation,and reduce body mass in OVX rats.

Objective Validate the correlation between tongue features and age and gender by utilizing real-world tongue image data from healthy individuals.Methods Establishing,training,and validating a model using artificial intelligence image acquisition techniques and machine learning tools.Results ①Artificial intelligence has achieved the digitization and standardization of Traditional Chinese Medicine tongue diagnosis data,establishing a database of Traditional Chinese Medicine tongue diagnosis(n=56573).②A highly accurate random forest model has demonstrated the correlation between tongue features and gender and age.③Further selection of key factors that show differences in tongue features between different age groups and genders.④Machine learning artificial neural network models were trained,tested,and validated(training set R2=0.8772,validation set R2=0.8715,test set R2=0.8707,AUC=89.5％),demonstrating excellent accuracy.Conclusion Machine learning validation using real-world data has confirmed that tongue features change with age.Additionally,analysis of large-scale real-world data has revealed that there are different tongue features associated with gender differences.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of acupuncture on post-stroke insomnia.Methods 148 outpatients and inpatients with post-stroke insomnia were recruited in the Shanghai municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2016 to January 2018.They were randomly divided into two groups,acupuncture group(n=74)and control group(n=74).The acupuncture group was treated with GV20,GV24,GV29,HN22,HT7 and SP6 20 minutes each time,3 times per week for 4 weeks.The follow-up was after 4 weeks.The control group was treated with sham acupuncture on the same acupoints.The needles did not pierce the skin.The Insomnia Severity Index Scale(ISI),the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS)and the Stroke Special Quality of Life Scale(SS-QoL)were used to evaluate the patients before treatment,after 2 weeks of treatment,after 4 weeks of treatment and follow-up.The occurrence of adverse events of acupuncture was also recorded.Results ① ISI:after 2 weeks of treatment,4 weeks of treatment and follow-up,the score of treatment group was decreased compared with the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.01).Compared with baseline,the ISI score of the treatment group was decreased after 4 weeks of treatment(P＜0.05).② HADS score:The difference between 4-week treatment and baseline score of the HADS-A,the difference between the treatment group and the control group was statistically significant(P＜0.01);the difference between 4-week treatment and baseline,and between follow-up and baseline score of the HADS-D,the difference between the treatment group and the control group was statistically significant(P＜0.01).③SS-QoL score:The difference between 2-week treatment and baseline,between 4-week treatment and baseline,and between follow-up and baseline score of the SS-QoL,the difference between the treatment group and the control group was statistically significant(P＜0.01).Conclusion Acupuncture is an effective and safe therapy in improving the severity of insomnia of patients with post-stroke insomnia.Compared with sham acupuncture,acupuncture can improve the anxiety and depression status and quality of life of patients.