Purpose. Since auricular acupuncture is a diagnostic and treatment system based on normalizing the body's dysfunction, auricular acupuncture has been applied for pain relief, relaxation, and so on. These techniques would modulate the autonomic nerve system, thereby inducing the above-mentioned effects. The aim was to see the effect of auricular acupuncture applied to the "Shenmen" and "Point Ze...

The objective of this study was to determine whether human auricular chondrocytes can also express alpha-- -smooth muscle actin. Immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies for alpha-smooth actin, muscle-specific actin, beta-actin, S-100 protein, CD34, and desmin was performed on samples of human ear cartilage obtained from 20 individuals during a partial resection of the ear for different...

BACKGROUND Inflammation is often considered to play a crucial role in epilepsy by affecting iron status and metabolism. In this study, we investigated the curative effect of auricular acupuncture and somatic acupuncture on kainic acid- (KA-) induced epilepsy in rats. METHODS We established an epileptic seizure model in rats by KA (12 mg, ip). The 2 Hz electroacupuncture (EA) was applied at au...

INTRODUCTION Auricular reconstruction is a great challenge in facial plastic surgery. With the advances in surgical techniques and biotechnology, different options are available for consideration. The aim of this paper is to review the knowledge about the various techniques for total auricular reconstruction based on the literature and our experience. METHODS Approximately 179 articles publis...

In cases of auricular surgery, postoperative dressings are thought to be important for keeping auricular contour and in helping to prevent from dressing failures due to edema or subcutaneous hematoma, which may result in fibrous or cartilaginous proliferation. However, it is often difficult to achieve success with standard dressings because of the complicated shape of the auricle. We used 2-oct...

The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the literature on adverse events associated with auricular therapy (AT). Case reports, case series, surveys, and all types of clinical trials reporting adverse events of AT were included. Relevant articles were mainly retrieved from 13 electronic databases and seven Chinese journals on complementary medicine. AT-related adverse events were re...

BACKGROUND Postoperative auricular perichondritis is a problematic and embarrassing surgical complication after an endaural approach tympanoplasty. However, a search through the literature showed only a few papers regarding postoperative auricular perichondritis, and the reported treatment experience is scarce. This study reviews the clinical aspects of postoperative auricular perichondritis an...

The reconstruction of the external ear to correct congenital deformities or repair following trauma remains a significant challenge in reconstructive surgery. Previously, we have developed a novel approach to create scaffold-free, tissue engineering elastic cartilage constructs directly from a small population of donor cells. Although the developed constructs appeared to adopt the structural ap...

BACKGROUND Tobacco smoking is still a worldwide health risk. Current pharmacotherapies have at best, a success rate of no more than 50%. Auricular (ear) acupressure has been purported to be beneficial in achieving smoking cessation in some studies, while in others has been deemed insignificant. We hereby describe the protocol for a three-arm randomised controlled trial to examine the possible b...

BACKGROUND Hypertension, a worldwide public health problem, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease, and the medical and economic burden of hypertension is increasing. Auricular acupuncture has been used to treat various diseases, including hypertension. Several studies have shown that auricular acupuncture treatment decreases blood pressure in patients with hypertension; h...