Hyperuricemia is a chronic metabolic disease resulting from purine metabolic dysfunction and is classified under the category of"blood turbidity"in traditional Chinese medicine.Our team termed it"acid turbidity,"and its pathogenesis is closely related to the dynamic evolution of the clear and the turbid components.With the change of modern people's diet structure,the incidence of hyperuricemia is increasing annually owing to the intake of fatty,sweet foods and alcohol.Therefore,this paper explores hyperuricemia from the"indigestion of spleen and stomach"theory.The core pathogenesis of hyperuricemia is indigestion of spleen and stomach,the inversion of clear and turbid substances,and endogenous acid turbidity.The initial manifestation of hyperuricemia is the internal retention of acid turbidity and ascending-descending disharmony;the gradual manifestation of this disease is that indigestion causes heat,and acid turbidity transforms into poison;the final manifestation of this disease is that secular indigestion causes deficiency and the inversion of clear and turbid substances.It can be summarized into three syndromes:syndromes of internal retention of dampness-turbidity,dampness-heat toxin amassment,and dampness-heat due to spleen deficiency.Therefore,this paper proposes to treat the disease according to different syndromes,with ascending the clear and descending the turbid as the core of treatment.And the therapeutic approach employs the flexible application of three methods:transportation,resolving,and transformation.For syndrome of internal retention of dampness-turbidity,treatment focuses on promoting spleen transportation to eliminate dampness;for syndrome of dampness-heat toxin amassment,the strategy is to resolve indigestion and purge heat;and for syndrome of dampness-heat due to spleen deficiency,the aim is to resolve turbidity and clear heat.By ascending the clear and descending the turbid,so that"returning the clear and the turbid to the original,"the spleen and stomach regain harmony,functions of ascending and descending are reestablished,and hyperuricemia can be effectively managed.

Hyperuricemia is a chronic metabolic disease resulting from purine metabolic dysfunction and is classified under the category of"blood turbidity"in traditional Chinese medicine.Our team termed it"acid turbidity,"and its pathogenesis is closely related to the dynamic evolution of the clear and the turbid components.With the change of modern people's diet structure,the incidence of hyperuricemia is increasing annually owing to the intake of fatty,sweet foods and alcohol.Therefore,this paper explores hyperuricemia from the"indigestion of spleen and stomach"theory.The core pathogenesis of hyperuricemia is indigestion of spleen and stomach,the inversion of clear and turbid substances,and endogenous acid turbidity.The initial manifestation of hyperuricemia is the internal retention of acid turbidity and ascending-descending disharmony;the gradual manifestation of this disease is that indigestion causes heat,and acid turbidity transforms into poison;the final manifestation of this disease is that secular indigestion causes deficiency and the inversion of clear and turbid substances.It can be summarized into three syndromes:syndromes of internal retention of dampness-turbidity,dampness-heat toxin amassment,and dampness-heat due to spleen deficiency.Therefore,this paper proposes to treat the disease according to different syndromes,with ascending the clear and descending the turbid as the core of treatment.And the therapeutic approach employs the flexible application of three methods:transportation,resolving,and transformation.For syndrome of internal retention of dampness-turbidity,treatment focuses on promoting spleen transportation to eliminate dampness;for syndrome of dampness-heat toxin amassment,the strategy is to resolve indigestion and purge heat;and for syndrome of dampness-heat due to spleen deficiency,the aim is to resolve turbidity and clear heat.By ascending the clear and descending the turbid,so that"returning the clear and the turbid to the original,"the spleen and stomach regain harmony,functions of ascending and descending are reestablished,and hyperuricemia can be effectively managed.

OBJECTIVETo observe effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Weizhong" (BL 40) on morphology and expression of creatine kinase (CK) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) in rats with bupivacaine-induced multifidus muscle injury.

METHODSA total of 32 male SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, a Weizhong group and a Shenshu group, 8 rats in each one. The rats in the model group, Weizhong group and Shenshu group were treated with intramuscular injection of 0.5% bupivacaine to establish the model of multifidus muscle injury; the rats in the control group were injected with 0.9% sodium chloride solution. The rats in the Weizhong group and Shenshu group were treated with EA (2 Hz/10 Hz in frequency, 1~2 mA in intensity) at "Weizhong" (BL 40) and "Shenshu" (BL 23), 20 min per treatment. No treatment was given in the control group and model group. After 14-day treatment of EA, the inflammatory cell count, scar tissues area and muscle fiber cross sectional area of multifidus muscle were observed with HE and Masson staining method. The activity of CK and serum content of IL-17 were test with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; the expression of IL-17 in multifidus muscle was measured with immunohistochcmical method.

RESULTSAfter intervention, the inflammatory cell count and scar tissues area in the model group, Weizhong group and Shenshu group were higher than those in the control group (all<0.01), but the muscle fiber cross sectional area was significantly reduced (all<0.01); the inflammatory cell count and scar tissues area in the Weizhong group and Shenshu group were lower than those in the model group (all<0.01), and the muscle fiber cross sectional area was significantly increased (<0.01,<0.05). After intervention, the expression of IL-17 in multifidus muscle, serum content of IL-7 and activity of CK in the model group, Weizhong group and Shenshu group were higher than those in the control group (all<0.01); the expression of IL-17 in multifidus muscle, serum content of IL-7 and activity of CK in the Weizhong group and Shenshu group were lower than those in the model group (<0.01,<0.05); compared with the Shenshu group, the down-regulation of IL-17 was more obvisous in the Weizhong group (<0.01).

CONCLUSIONEA at "Weizhong" (BL 40) can down-regulate the overexpression of serum CK and IL-17, alleviate inflammation reaction and improve the repair of multifidus muscle.