ISSN:
1432-0428
Keywords:
Keywords Chinese medicine, acupuncture, alternative medicine, diabetes mellitus, Psammomys obesus, insulin resistance.
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Aim/hypothesis. Electroacupuncture has been shown to induce a short-term hypoglycaemic effect in streptozotocin diabetic rats. We designed an experiment to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture in Psammomys obesus, a model of insulin resistance and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.¶Methods. We divided 29 diabetic Psammomys randomly into three groups: abdominal electroacupuncture (real, n = 11), back electroacupuncture (placebo, n = 9) and control (anaesthesia, n = 9). Electroacupuncture was carried out on days 1, 3 and 5 of the experiment. During the first week of the experiment, blood glucose was tested three times on treatment days and once on the following days. Over the next 2 weeks, blood glucose was tested every other day. Animals were weighed at the same time of blood sampling. After 3 weeks, at the end of the experiment, blood was drawn for measurement of insulin, fructosamine, cholesterol and triglycerides.¶Results. At day 5 (end of intervention), blood glucose (as per cent of primary concentrations, means ± SE) was 57 ± 10, 93 ± 13 and 89 ± 11 for the real, placebo and control groups respectively (p = 0.02). At day 8, blood glucose 68 ± 14, 86 ± 16 and 97 ± 9 for the real, placebo and control groups respectively (p = 0.04). At day 22, blood glucose was 79 ± 11, 85 ± 15 and 131 ± 2 for the real, placebo and control groups (p = 0.04). Comparison of the decline in blood glucose, throughout the 3 weeks, between the real and placebo groups by ANOVA was highly significant (p 〈 0.0001), the difference between the placebo and control groups at the same time was not significant (p 〉 0.05). Animal weight gain, serum insulin, fructosamine, cholesterol and triglycerides were not significantly different between real and placebo groups.¶Conclusion/interpretation. Electroacupuncture at special abdominal acupoints induces a sustained hypoglycaemic effect in diabetic Psammomys compared with electroacupuncture at non-specific points, without weight loss. No hypoinsulinaemic effect was shown in the real and placebo groups. [Diabetologia (2000) 43: 809–813]
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s001250051379
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