Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics Research: International Journal of Integrated Medicine

Thirteen cycles of anovulation menstruation in 11 cases were treated with Electro-Acupuncture (EA) ovulation induction. In 6 of these cycles which showed ovulation, the hand skin temperature (HST) of these patients was increased after EA treatment. In the other 7 cycles ovulation was not induced. There were no regular changes in HST of 5 normal subjects. The level of radioinununoreactive beta¬endorphin (rβ-E) fluctutated, and returned to the preacupunctural level in 30 min. after withdrawal of needles in normal subjects. After EA, the level of blood rB-E in cycles with ovulation declined or maintained the range of normal subjects. But the level of blood rß-E in cycles in which the induction failed to cause ovulation was kept higher that that of normal. (P< 0.05). There was a negative correlation in the decrease of blood rß-E and increase of HST after EA (r=-0.677, P <0.01). EA is able to regulate the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Since a good response is usually accompanied with the increase of HST, monitoring HST may provide a rough but simple method for predicting the curative effect of EA. The role of rß-E in the mechanism of EA ovulation induction was discussed.

Impedancegraphy and laser Doppler flowmetry were used to measure whether limb circulation changes following post-traumatic immobilization and edema. Intermittent pneumatic compression was used for edema treatment. Limb blood flow due to edema was unchanged compared to the contralateral healthy leg. Intermittent pneumatic compression reduced edema very significantly (p< 0.001). Intermittent compression showed a slight but significant (p< 0.01) improvement in impedancegraph blood flow after treatment. Laser Doppler skin blood flow decreased non-significantly following the compression treatment.

Analgesia caused by intraperitoneal 0.5 mg/kg morphine (MA) in rats is equivalent to acupuncture analgesia (AA) caused by low frequency stimulation of the tibial muscle (Tsusanli acupuncture point). Analgesia equivalent to both AA and MA was produced by intrathecal application of 0.05 pg morphine. This analgesia exhibits individual variation in effectiveness which is parallel to those of both AA and MA, and disappears after 250 mg/kg intraperitoneal D-phenylalanine. Analgesia that persisted after termination of acupuncture stimulation was not affected, maximally developed MA and AA were both partially antagonized, and the initial development of AA and MA were completely antagonized by intrathecal application of 0.2 pg naloxone. Analgesia caused by intrathecal 0.05 μg morphine was abolished by bilateral lesion of the anterolateral tract (ALT) of the spinal cord and that caused by acupuncture stimulation was abolished by contra-lateral lesion. Analgesia caused by larger doses (0.1-0.2 pg) of intrathecal morphine was not abolished, but persisted after ALT lesion, unilateral lesion of the dorsal periaqueductal central gray (D-PAG), or hypophysectomy. Potentials were evoked by acupuncture stimulation in the bilateral D-PAG. Analgesia produced by D-PAG stimulation was not affected by ALT lesion nor by intrathecal naloxone, but was abolished by lesion of the dorsolateral funiculus. These results imply two types of morphine action in the spinal cord to produce analgesia: activation of the ascending AA pathway; and direct inhibition of pain messages in the spinal cord. They also show that the AA producing pathway ascends contralaterally in the ALT and then bilaterally in the D-PAG.

In spite of the importance of tongue diagnosis in Oriental Medicine, a very rough assignment of only a limited number of the major internal organs is known, and some of the assignments are not exactly the same, depending upon various schools of thought. In 1980, the author first developed a simple, quick, non-invasive, accurate method of localizing representation areas of internal organs, using the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test Molecular Identification Method based on the resonance phenomena between 2 identical substances or tissues, with a microscope slide of a specific internal organ as a reference control substance. The method was applied to the organ representation areas in the ears, hands, feet, cerebral cortex, and tongue. In this article for the first time detailed organ representation areas of the human tongue are being presented in comparison with currently known organ representation areas on the tongue. For convenience, the tongue can be divided into 3 parts: the anterior, the middle, and the posterior. On each side of the anterior pan (1st part, area around the tip) of the tongue, the internal organs in the chest cavity are represented; from the mid-line to each side of the tip of the tongue, the oesophagus, thymus gland, lung (and trachea & bronchi), heart, and breast (over heart area) are represented. The middle (2nd) part of the tongue represents the digestive system, and the 3rd part represents the genito- urinary system. The 2nd part of the tongue represents the rectum, colon, cecum, appendix, small intestine, stomach, pancreas, liver, and gall bladder. The 2nd and 3rd parts of the tongue represent all the internal organs in the abdominal cavities and the genito-urinary area. The remaining one-third of the tongue, near the pharynx, is all related to the genito-urinary system with the exception of the spleen, which is located between the kidney and the adrenal gland representation areas. Within the triangular area formed by the sulcus terminalis, the anus is represented on both sides. Finally, at the peak of that triangle, i.e. the foramen cecum, the coccyx is represented. Extremities are represented at the sides of the tongue. The undersurface of die tongue starting from the tip of the tongue in the mid-line and going towards the root of the tongue along the frenulum in the mouth represents one kind of homunculus consisting of the neck, face, head, ears, upper & lower extremities and back of the body. The neck, face, head, ears, and upper extremities occupy well over 50% of the under surface of the tongue. On the sides of the face are enomious ears relative to the size of the face. From the sides of the tip of the back of the tongue, towards the boundary of the tongue, next to the neck are the shoulders, arms, and fingers. Using this new accurate organ representation chart of the tongue, the author found that, when there is a distinctive moss or fine crease (or groove) formation on the specific internal organ representation area, its corresponding organ's abnormality was often confirmed. Using this new accurate diagram of organ representation areas of the tongue, one can make quick screening of the internal organs of the chest and abdominal cavities, as well as other pans of the body, as an important practical supplement for standard medical diagnosis.

The effect of electrical stimulation of the ear points on the plasma ACTH and GH level was investigated in healthy female subjects. Electrical stimulation by 20 pulses/sec for 20 min. induced an elevation of plasma GH; however, no changes were found in the plasma level of ACTH at 20 min. after the needle removal. The mechanism of action of electroacupuncture in inducing GH secretion may involve the brain endorphin, serotoninergic and catecholaminergic systems. The results obtained from the determination of ACTH suggest the conclusion that electroacupuncture didnot induce stress and the increased level of GH may be due to specific effects of electrical stimulation on the neuroendocrine processes.

Many who attempt to use the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test for medical diagnosis are performing it incorrectly. Discussed here are the most important aspects of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test, that is, localizing abnormal parts of the body and identifying the cause, electromagnetic effects, food and drug compatibility, evaluating therapeutic effects and hints on how to practice the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test.

Some effects of sub-threshold sine-wave transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), passed between earlobe electrodes at a constant alternating current (AC) frequency of 100 Hertz (Hz), were investigated in 90 normal subjects after 30 minutes of treatment, and after 3 minutes of standardized mental stress (mental arithmetic) which immediately followed the 30 minute treatment. In a double-blind protocol, five groups received 1) active TENS during treatment and active TENS during stress; 2) active TENS during treatment and placebo TENS during stress; 3) placebo TENS during treatment and placebo TENS during stress; 4) placebo TENS during treatment and active TENS during stress; and 5) no treatment during both treatment and stress. Results showed significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, pulse rate and anxiety, but not in diastolic blood pressure or peripheral vascular tension, after 30 minutes of active TENS as compared to no treatment. No placebo TENS effect was observed. No significant differences were observed between active TENS, placebo TENS and no treatment in physiological or psychological response to the stress procedure. Results are discussed in terms of the applicability of this technique to the management of stress.