Objective To conduct a visualization analysis of acupuncture treatment for cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type(CSA)using CiteSpace and VOSviewer,exploring the current research status and development trends in this field,and providing evidence and recommendations for future studies.Methods Journal articles on acupuncture treatment for CSA were retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)database from its inception to September 14,2024.Excel 2021,VOSviewer(1.6.20),and CiteSpace(5.7r5)were used to perform visualization analyses of author output,journal publications,research institutions,collaboration networks,and keywords,with knowledge maps generated accordingly.Results A total of 2 769 articles were retrieved,and after screening,1 874 articles were included.The publication output in the field of acupuncture for CSA generally showed an increasing trend.There were 129 authors who published≥3 articles,with the top three being Jia Hongling,Zhang Yongchen,and Wang Xilin.A total of 277 journals published relevant articles,with the Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion being the most prolific.Research institutions were primarily represented by Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hubei University of Chinese Medicine.The number of institutions in this field was large and widely distributed,yet independent.Due to geographical and other factors,cross-regional collaborations were limited.Keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that,apart from"cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type",the most frequently occurring terms included cervical spondylosis,acupuncture,tuina,acupuncture therapy,electroacupuncture,vertigo,hemodynamics,therapeutic effect,acupotomy,and warm needling.Cluster analysis mainly identified different acupuncture therapies,acupoint selection patterns,and clinical research related to CSA.Conclusion Clinical research on acupuncture for CSA is active,but mechanistic studies remain relatively insufficient.Future research should focus on elucidating the underlying mechanisms to provide new insights.Additionally,studies in this field are highly fragmented,lacking extensive collaboration among authors and institutions.Research teams should strengthen cooperation and diversify their approaches to further advance the study of acupuncture for CSA.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation ES) on the induction of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs) to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro. The third or fourth-generation of the rBMSCs was randomly divided into three groups, i. e. ES group, 5-Azacytidine (5-Aza) group, and control group. Those in the ES group with complete medium were exposed to 1,2,4 and 6V, 2Hz, 5ms ES for 2h everyday,lasting for 10d. Those in the 5-Aza group were induced by 10 micromol/L 5-Aza for 24h, then the medium was changed to complete medium without 5-Aza. Those in the control group were only cultured with complete medium. The growth status and morphological features of rBMSCs were observed by inverted phase microscope. The mRNA expressions of GATA4, a-actin, ACTN2 and TNNT2 were determined by Real-time fluorescent quantification PCR, and the protein expression of TNNT2 was detected with immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that the mRNA expression level of the GATA4, a-actin, ACTN2 and TNNT2 and the protein expression level of the TNNT2 were significantly higher in the ES group and 5-Aza group, compared to those in the control group(P<0. 05). It suggested that ES could induce rBMSCs differentiation into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro.
Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Electric Stimulation ; Female ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley