BACKGROUND Previous studies suggest that electroacupuncture possesses therapeutic benefits for depressive disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether dense cranial electroacupuncture stimulation (DCEAS) could enhance the antidepressant efficacy in the early phase of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS In this si...

Background: Shivering during regional anesthesia is a common complication and is related to a decrease in the patient’s core body temperature. Previous studies have shown that acupuncture on specific acupoints can preserve core body temperature. The present study evaluated the effect of electroacupuncture in preventing the shivering caused by regional anesthesia. Methods: This prospective and r...

Inflammatory response has been shown to play a critical role in brain damage after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is tightly regulated by the Toll-like receptor (TLR)4/nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway; therefore, suppression of TLR4/NF-κB signaling has become a promising target for the anti-inflammatory treatment in ischemic strok...

The present study investigates the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on urinary bladder pressure (UBP) in patients with acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI). Twenty patients with AGI admitted to the First Hospital of Jiaxing intensive care unit from December 2011 to June 2013 were evaluated. Conventional group patients (n = 10) were administered moderate enteral nutritional support, and electro...

We investigate the antidepressant-like effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) on a chronic unpredictable mild stress rats depression-like behavior. In our study, depression in rats was induced by unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) and isolation for four weeks. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: Normal, Model, EA, and Sham EA. EA treatment was adminis...

Inflammation after stroke is the main cause of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Cascading events after injury can lead to cell death. Heat shock protein 70 and other endogenous injury-signaling molecules are released by damaged cells, which can lead to systemic stress reactions. Protecting the brain through repair begins with the stress-injury-repair signaling chain. This study aimed to ve...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are characterized by abnormal central processing with altered brain activation in response to visceral nociceptive signals. The effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on IBS patients is unclear. The study is set to study the effect of EA on brain activation during noxious rectal distension in IBS patients using a randomized sham-controlled...

Fifty-four patients treated in a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation program were randomly assigned to and accepted treatment with electroacupuncture (n = 17), TENS (low intensity transcutaneous nerve stimulation, n = 18), and TENS dead-battery (placebo, n = 18). Outcome measures included estimates of pain (on a Visual Analogue Scale) and disability by both physician and patient, physical measures ...

OBJECTIVE This study examined the additional therapeutic effects of electroacupuncture for patients with first-ever ischaemic stroke. DESIGN Randomized controlled study. SUBJECTS A total of 63 patients with first-ever ischaemic stroke. METHODS The study and control groups underwent a conventional rehabilitation program, with the former receiving an additional 8 courses of electroacupunctu...

BACKGROUND Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a serious and potentially disabling condition and is a very complex syndrome, which consists of pain maintained by the sympathetic nervous system. There have been no data present demonstrating that this condition can be treated with electroacupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine effectively. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to present ...