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AcuDuncture - Electro Stimulation

TranscriptsofTalk given at AGM of BMAS meeting- l . D .C a p e l
Using the antipyrine clearancehepatic
function test it was observed that NET
{Neuro EleclricTherapyleiect.ostimuation
(ES) increasedliver funcr.oneven i^ some
patienlswhose clearancewas a readvrapro
as a result of chronic barbiturateabuse.lt
was noted that ES decreased barbiturate
induced loss of righting reflex (LBR) jn
acutely dosed rats, There was no difference
betweenAC or DC currentin producinglhis
response but square wave was far rnore
efficaciousthan sine. Usingthis LRRmodel
it was found that lvwas the optimalvoltage
intensity,and 0.22 m sec the optimal pulse
width to producethis response.
The most imponant determinantof LRR
was the rreque'lcyoft_e ESappl:ed.Thds ir
the case of barbiturateinducednarcosis2
frequencies(10and 500Hz)wereefficacious
;r decreasingsreepingtime.A frequencyof
30 Hz was efficacious{or ketamine, and 500
Hr in lhe case of elha'1ol.lt was conclJded
lhat differing frequenciesare necessaryto
reduce LRR caused by lhe acure
administrationof differingdrugs.
ln the case of barbituratesslow or fast
frequencvES applredcranially(viathe ea's)
will decreasesleepingtime but applied
peripherally{via the fore paws) only fast
frequencyESwill producethis response.
ES fo' only 30 'ninutes is sufficientro

decrease sleeping time provided it was

administeredimmediatelyafterthe LRB,ES
for the second 30 minutes after narcosrs
producesno significanteffect.Intermittent
ES (5 minuteson and 5 minutesofi) for the
duration of narcosis will also decrease
sleepingtime.
ES decreasesthe duration of LRRin other
rodents but the optimal frequency to reduce
hexobarbital narcosis differed in each
species.Some strains of mice exhibiteda
greaterdecreasein sleepingtime following
ESthan others,themost sensitivebeingthe

c57BL.
Examinationof the microsomesprepared
from the liversof ratswhich had received
ES indicatedthat the decreasein LRRwas
not mediatedvia increasedhepaticenzyme
induction.
Prior administrationof the specificopiate
antagonistnaloxonediminishedthe effect
of slow frequency ES but enhancedthe
effect of fast frequency ES on barbaturate
levelsare
anaesthesia,
Bloodcorticosterone
significantlydecreasedfollowing slow, but
;ncreased{ollowingfast frequencyES.
It isconcludedthatthisactionof slowand
fast frequency ES are produced by di{ferent
mechanisms and that the former rs
associated with increased B endorphin
acUvlry,

The NeuropharmacologyofAcupuncture PaulPrice,

MB,Bsc,lMRCP.
Thereportthattransferof CSFfrom
produced
rabbitshavingacupuncture
in recipient
rabbitsconfirms
analges;a
that
acupunture
hasa neurohumeral
basis,The
opioid peptides B-endorphinand met
enhephalin,
aswellas5-HT(Serotonin)
havesofar beenshownto beneurohumeral
mo.li.r^rc

^+ r^

,n,,n.r,,ro

The opiateantoganistnaloxonewhen
given in conventionadosestoanimalsor
man, reducesthe analgesiaproducedby
manual acupunctureand low frequency
Nalaxonehas no effect
e ectroacupuncture.
on high f requencyelectroacupuncture
analgesia.Acupuncturecausesthe central
re easeof opioid peptideswhich can be
measuredin the CSF-Th most opioid
assays,the structuralidentityof these
peptidesis unceftain.Clement-Jones
and
her colleaguesreportedthat low frequenc,
e l e c l r o a c L p u n . r u r e 'toq er e l r eo' I c h r o r i c
pain caLrsed an elevation of CSF Bendorphinlevelsbut had no effecton CSF
metenhephalin evels.Converselyhigh
frequencyelectroacupuncture
for the relief
of heroinw;thdrawalsymptomshad no effect
on CSFB-endorphinlevelsbut producedan
increasein CSFmefenhephalinlevels.

Theseresultsconcurwiththe naioxone
srLrdies
sincerhe effectsof B.endo'phina e
sensitivetonaloxoneblockadebutthoseof
to
rnet-enhaphalin
are relativelyinsensitive
Feleaseof 5'HT into the CSFhas been
demonstratedduring acupuncture
analgesia.In addition,drugswhich increase
cereb-al5-Hl levelsenhanceac,rpJrcru'e
analgesia,and 5-HTblockingdrugs
decreaseacupunctureanalgesia,In mice,
high f requencyeiectfoacupuncture
analgesiais reducedby loweringcerebra
5-HTlevelswith parachorphenyialonine
whereaslow f eqJe'lcyelectroacupLnct-re
analgesiais unaffected;the oppositeeffect
ol naloxone.
^1ay
Low reqLe'lcye ectroacupu'rclure
releaseB-endorphinin the periaqueductal
gray thus activiatinga descendingpain
inhibitorypathway.Highfrequency
electroacupuncture
howevermay activatea
descendingserotoninergicpathwayarising
i 1 t l - e. l L c l e u rsa p h e- n a g r L s i nr h en e d u l l a
wh;ch, via short enhephallnergic
interneuronesin the spinaldorsalhorns,
inhibitsthe firing of noclceptivedorsalhorn

Downloaded from http://aim.bmj.com/ on October 29, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com

The neuropharmacology of acupuncture

Paul Price
Acupunct Med 1982 1: 9

doi: 10.1136/aim.1.1.9-a
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