This article employs a multidisciplinary approach encompassing traditional Chinese medicine, history, philology, and exegetics to comprehensively examine the historical evolution of auricular acupoint therapy and otomedicine. Originating in China, systematized in Europe, and currently advancing through modern research and development led by China, this study traces the historical context of otological practices. It outlines the foundational principles of otomedicine as depicted in the Huangdi Neijing, elucidates the accumulation of ancient otomedical knowledge within this framework, reviews the systematic establishment and theoretical underpinnings of auricular acupoints, and delineates the process of formulating auricular acupoint standards. Through case studies such as " ear-brain interconnection" and " ear treatment of encephalopathy", it illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of ear medicine research and development. The article aims to illuminate the historical transition from ear therapy to ear medicine within the contemporary context and the emergence of auricular point-guided ear medicine. By drawing on historical insights and looking toward the future, it provides a foundation for the ongoing development of the ear medical specialty, offering insights for integrating non-drug therapies into China′s healthcare system and global health initiatives.

In view of the limitations of the high operational difficulty, safety hazards and adverse reactions of traditional fire needle, and unclear treatment parameters of existing electric fire needles, a new digital electric fire needle instrument was designed and developed in this study. This instrument is a gun type structure, consisting of a gun body, a power supply interface on the gun body, a display unit and a drive unit, a heating unit, a cooling unit, a positioning unit, and a needle inserting unit in the gun body. This instrument can digitally realize the regulation of parameters such as fire needle inserting temperature, depth and speed, and it has the advantageous features of intelligent needle burning, precise positioning, and safe and easy operation. This instrument meets the needs of more patients, medical professionals and scientific researchers, and is conducive to promoting the development of fire needle acupuncture therapy.
Humans ; Needles ; Heating ; Research Personnel ; Temperature

Objective: To observe the effects of moxibustion or moxa smoke on serum lipids, aorta and liver pa-thology, and carotid plaque stability in atherosclerosis.Methods: Fifty-four 8-week-old ApoE-/- mice were randomly divided into three groups (untreated, moxibustion, and moxa smoke) and received a high-fat diet. Eighteen wild-type C57BL/6 mice of the same age were used as controls. The intervention (none, moxibustion between the nipples, or 10-15 mg/m3 moxa smoke) was applied to restrained mice 20 min per day, six days per week, for 12 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, we measured serum lipids and apolipoprotein, stained thoracic aortas and livers to observe pathological changes, and used immunohistochemical staining to assess the levels of α-smooth muscle actin, CD68, tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear transcription factor-kB, and P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. We also measured the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9 and tissue metalloproteinase inhibitor-1. Results: After 12 weeks, lipid metabolism disorder and atherosclerotic plaques were observed in the ApoE-/- mice. Moxibustion or moxa smoke reduced the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein but did not affect the levels of high density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein A1, or oxidized low density lipoprotein. Moxibustion or moxa smoke sup-pressed pathological changes in thoracic aortas and livers, increased fiber cap thickness, the fiber cap thickness/intimal medial thickness ratio, and collagen area percentage, and reduced extracellular lipids. Treatment with moxibustion or moxa smoke increasedα-smooth muscle actin and reduced CD68 and the vulnerability index, suppressed tumor necrosis factor-α and nuclear transcription factor-kB expres-sion, and did not affect P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase expression. Treatment lowered the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9 and increased those of tissue metalloproteinase inhibitor-1. Conclusion: Moxibustion or moxa smoke exert protective effects in serum lipid profiles and carotid plaque stability in atherosclerotic mice by regulating plaque stability, inflammatory factors, and matrix metalloproteinases.

OBJECTIVETo summarize and analyze the clinical literature regarding moxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) for insomnia, and to provide clinical evidence of moxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) for insomnia.

METHODSWith "moxibustion" "acupuncture-moxibustion" "Yongquan (KI 1)" "insomnia" and "sleep disorder", etc. as key terms, the clinical literature regarding moxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) for insomnia was retrieved in CNKI, and VIP databases, and reviewed, summarized and analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 27 clinical papers were retrieved, including 14 randomized controlled trials. In recent years, the number of clinical papers had increased. Few papers selected moxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) as independent treatment for insomnia; most papers combined moxibustion with acupuncture, massage, etc. Moxibustion was commonly manipulated by patients or family members, and few papers applied moxibustion instruments to make the manipulation easier and safer.

CONCLUSIONMoxibustion at Yongquan (KI 1) for insomnia has attracted more and more attention. It is suggested to apply convenient and safe moxibustion instruments in clinical treatment, which is benefit to clinical generalization, but also provides convenient manipulation for further study regarding its clinical effect and mechanism.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Massage ; Moxibustion ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; therapy

Through checking the ancient books and the articles at the modern times and combining the disciplinary characteristics of techniques of acupuncture and moxibustion, the training of manipulation skills was discussed. It is proposed that during the teaching of the techniques of acupuncture and moxibustion, the most basic ability of needling technique should be trained in the first place. This ability includes the ability of spiritual cultivation, the ability of tactile perception and the specific training for the needling techniques. The ability of spiritual cultivation refers to the consciousness concentration to the patient when providing acupuncture, which may promotes and conducts to the affected area. The ability of tactile perception refers to the different feelings of different tissues under the hands before and after acupuncture, the perception to the different needling sensations corresponding to the chief complains of patients as well as the different body responses after acupuncture. In order to ensure the better learning results, the specific manipulations of needling techniques should be provided accordingly on the base of these basic training skills of acupuncture.
Acupuncture ; education ; Books ; Learning ; Moxibustion ; Teaching

The impact factors were explored to determine the horizontal positional relationship between the umbilicus and the 2nd lumbar spinal process in adults and to verify the accuracy of the localization of Shenshu (BL 23) via the umbilicus. The position of the umbilicus and the 2nd lumbar spinal process was measured in 100 participants and the data were analyzed through SPSS 20.0 software. It was found that the umbilicus and the 2nd lumbar process were not positioned horizontally. The positional relationship of these two sites was not apparently correlated with gender, age, body weight, body height, BMI, waistline and discomfort of lumbar region. The umbilicus was commonly and posteriorly projected on the site between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebra. It is explained that the localization of Shenshu (BL23) via the umbilicus is not accurate.
Acupuncture Points ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbosacral Region ; anatomy & histology ; Male ; Meridians ; Middle Aged ; Umbilicus ; anatomy & histology ; Young Adult

Objective: To categorize and summarize the clinical and mechanism studies of the past 30 years on the treatment of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) with moxibustion, moxibustion plus medication, and acupuncture plus medication, etc., and to analyze the current problems. Methods: The clinical and laboratory studies related to the treatment of HT with acupuncture-moxibustion therapies published before June 2015 were retrieved from MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang) and Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP). Results:Moxibustion, moxibustion plus medication, and acupuncture plus medication can produce certain therapeutic effects in treating HT. Conclusion:The research on the treatment of HT with acupuncture-moxibustion therapies is rather limited in the amount and content. In the future, standardization should be fortified, specific moxibustion research needs deepening, and the action mechanism of moxibustion should be emphasized.

ObjectiveTo investigate the intervention effects of moxibustion and moxa smoke on blood lipids,hepatic pathological changes and intrahepatocytic molecules related to cholesterol metabolism and analyze the regulating effects of moxibustion and moxa smoke on cholesterol metabolism and explore the mechanisms of actions of moxibustion and moxa smoke. MethodFifty-one 8-week-old ApoE-/-mice were randomized into model, moxa smoke and moxibustion groups, 17 mice each. Twenty C57BL/6 mice comprised a blank control group. The normal and model groups of mice were routinely grabbed and fastened. The moxa smoke group of mice was exposed to 10-15 mg/m3moxa smoke circumstances. The moxibustion group of mice was given moxibustion on point Guanyuan(CV4). All interventions were made 20 min daily, 6 times a week, for 12 consecutive weeks. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer. Hepatic pathologic morphology was observed by HE staining. Hepatic CD36 and ABCA1 expressions were determined by immunohistochemical method.ResultIn the model group of mice, serum TG and LDL-C contents were significantly higher than in the normal group (P=0.003;P=0.001);HDL-C content was significantly lower than in the normal group (P=0.007); TC content had no significant difference compared with the normal group (P>0.05). In the moxibustion group of mice, serum TG and LDL-C contents were significantly lower than in the model group (P=0.03;P=0.001) and HDL-C content had no significant difference compared with the model group (P=0.11). In the moxa smoke group of mice, serum TG and LDL contents were significantly lower than in the model group (P=0.01;P=0.008) and HDL content had no significant difference compared with the model group (P=0.11). There were no significant differences in various blood lipid indicators between the moxibustion and moxa smoke groups (P>0.05). There were hepatic cell cord and sinusoid derangement and obvious hepatocytic swelling in the model group of mice. In the moxa smoke and moxibustion groups, hepatocytic swelling subsided significantly, and inflammatory cell infiltration reduced compared with the model group. In the model group,CD36 expression was significantly higher than in the normal group (P=0.004) and ABCA1 expression was significantly lower than in the normal group (P=0.001). In the moxibustion group, CD36 expression had no significant difference compared with the model group (P=0.09) and ABCA1 expression was significantly higher than in the model group (P=0.03). In the moxa smoke group, CD36 expression was significantly lower than in the normal group (P=0.02) and ABCA1 expression was significantly higher than in the model group (P=0.002). There were no significant differences in CD36 and ABCA1 expressions between the moxibustion and moxa smoke groups (P>0.05).ConclusionEarly moxibustion on point Guanyuan can regulate disorders of blood lipid metabolism, delay the occurrence of hepatic lesions and reduce intrahepatic accumulation of cholesterol to a certain extent in an ApoE-/-mouse model of atherosclerosis. That may be one of the mechanisms by which moxibustion therapy prevents atherosclerosis. Moxa smoke as the product of moxibustion is an effective factor in moxibustion producing a therapeutic effect.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of intervention of moxa smoke with different concentrations on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum and lung of male rats, so as to explore the safety concentration of moxa smoke.

METHODSA total of 32 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into a control group, a low-concentration group, a moderate-concentration group and a high-concentration group, 8 rats in each one. All the rats were exposed in the full-automatic toxicant exposure cabinet, and the overshadow of moxa smoke was set at 0%, 10%, 40% and 70%, respectively. Each rat was exposed for 20 min per day. After 26 weeks, the activities of SOD and content of MDA in serum, lung organ and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were tested.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the activities of serum SOD in the high-concentration group were reduced (P< 0. 05), but those in the low-concentration group and moderate-concentration group were not significantly different (both P>0. 05). Compared with the control group, the content of serum MDA in the low-concentration group, moderate-concentration group and high-concentration group was increased insignificantly (all P>0. 05). There were no significant differences regarding activities of SOD and content of MDA in lung organ and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid among each moxa smoke group (all P>0. 05).

CONCLUSIONThere is no obvious toxic reaction in the low-concentration group and moderate-concentration group; in the high-concentration group the antioxidant ability is damaged due to long-term exposure.

Animals ; Artemisia ; chemistry ; Lung ; enzymology ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; metabolism ; Moxibustion ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Smoke ; analysis ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the effects of electroacupuncture of different stimulation waveforms on the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), glutamic acid (Glu) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (CABA) contents of the hypothalamus in rats with para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA)-induced insomnia and explore the difference in the effects and the mechanism of its action. Methods Fifty SD rats were randomly allocated to a normal group of 10 rats, a model group of 10 rats and an electroacupuncture group of 30 rats. The electroacupuncture group was then randomly divided to electroacupuncture groups 1, 2 and 3, 10 rats each. A rat model of insomnia was made using PCPA in all groups of rats except the normal group. All the electroacupuncture groups received electroacupuncture treatment. Of them, electroacupuncture group 1 received sparse wave treatment; electroacupuncture group 2, dense wave treatment;electroacupuncture group 3, sparse-dense wave treatment. After 6 days of treatment, every group of rats was sacrificed by cervical dislocation. The 5-HT, Glu and CABA contents of the hypothalamus were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The 5-HT content of the brain decreased significantly in the model group of rats compared with the blank group (P<0.01) and increased significantly in electroacupuncture group 3 of rats compared with the model group (P<0.01). There was a statistically significant difference in brain 5-HT content between electroacupuncture group 2 or 3 of rats and electroacupuncture group 1 (P<0.05,P<0.01) and between electroacupuncture groups 3 and 2 of rats (P<0.01). The Glu and CABA contents of the cerebral cortex and the ratio of Glu/CABA increased significantly in the model group of rats compared with the blank group (both P<0.01) and decreased significantly in electroacupuncture group 3 of rats compared with the model group (both P<0.01). There were statistically significant differences in the Glu and CABA contents of the cerebral cortex between electroacupuncture group 2 or 3 of rats and electroacupuncture group 1 ((P<0.05,P<0.01) and between electroacupuncture groups 3 and 2 of rats (P<0.01). Conclusions Electroacupuncture can regulate hypothalamic monoamine neurotransmitter 5-HT content and amino acid neurotransmitters Glu and CABA contents and reduce intracerebral amino acid toxicity to produce a therapeutic effect on insomnia in insomnia rats. The therapeutic effect of sparse wave electroacupuncture is superior to that of dense wave or sparse-dense wave electroacupuncture.