Petti F, Bangrazi A, Liguori A, Reale G, Ippoliti F
Paracelso Institute, Roma, Italy.
J Tradit Chin Med. 1998 Mar;18(1):55-63.
Experimental research has recently shown that acupuncture induces the formation of opioid-like peptides (OLPs) in animals. In order to provide further evidence, we tested the beta-endorphin levels and other parameters (VIP, lymphocyte subsets, NK cells and monocyte phagocytosis) in a group of 90 patients suffering from various painful disorders treated with acupuncture. Zusanli (St 36) and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints were selected. A homogeneous group of 30 subjects was used as control. Evaluation of the above parameters was made with 3 series of blood tests before treatment, 30 minutes and 24 hours after acupuncture treatment. In the acupuncture group, the following results were achieved: 1) A considerable increase in beta-endorphin levels remained high even 24 hours after acupuncture treatment. In addition, we demonstrated an inverted correlation between beta-endorphins and VIP; 2) 30 minutes after acupuncture session, 80% of the treated patients showed a significant increase of CD3 and CD4 values and an increase of CD8 24 hours after stimulation; 3) Monocyte phagocytosis was increased in 45% of the treated subjects 30 minutes from starting treatment, and in 100% of them after 24 hours. The percentage of NK cells was also increased in 40% of cases after 30 minutes, and in 50% after 24 hours. However, in the control group, no such significant changes in immune parameters were found.
近期的实验研究表明，针刺可诱导动物体内形成阿片样肽（OLPs）。为提供进一步证据，我们检测了90例接受针刺治疗的各种疼痛性疾病患者的β-内啡肽水平及其他参数（血管活性肠肽、淋巴细胞亚群、自然杀伤细胞和单核细胞吞噬作用）。选取足三里（胃经36穴）和合谷（大肠经4穴）穴位。选取30名受试者组成同质对照组。在治疗前、针刺治疗后30分钟和24小时进行3组血液检测，以评估上述参数。针刺组取得了以下结果：1）β-内啡肽水平显著升高，甚至在针刺治疗后24小时仍保持较高水平。此外，我们还证明了β-内啡肽与血管活性肠肽之间呈负相关；2）针刺治疗30分钟后，80%的治疗患者CD3和CD4值显著升高，刺激后24小时CD8增加；3）45%的治疗受试者在开始治疗30分钟后单核细胞吞噬作用增强，24小时后100%增强。30分钟后，40%的病例自然杀伤细胞百分比也增加，24小时后50%增加。然而，在对照组中，未发现免疫参数有如此显著的变化。
