Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kinki University, Osaka, Japan.
Auton Neurosci. 2011 Feb 24;160(1-2):27-31. doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2010.11.004. Epub 2010 Dec 16.
The modalities of acupuncture can be broadly classified into manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA). Although MA has been reported to cause winding of tissue around the needle and subsequent activation of the sensory mechanoreceptors and nociceptors, the sensory mechanisms of acupuncture stimulation are not fully understood. To test the hypothesis that the involvement of the mechanoreceptors in the sensory mechanism is different in MA and EA, we examined the effects of a stretch-activated channel blocker gadolinium on the hemodynamic responses to hind limb MA and EA in anesthetized rats (n = 9). Gadolinium significantly attenuated the MA-induced bradycardic response (-22 ± 5 vs. -10 ± 3 bpm, P<0.05) and tended to attenuate the MA-induced depressor response (-30 ± 5 vs. -18 ± 4 mmHg, P = 0.06). On the other hand, gadolinium significantly attenuated both the EA-induced bradycardic (-22 ± 5 vs. -9 ± 4 bpm, P<0.01) and depressor responses (-32 ± 6 vs. -15 ± 5 mmHg, P<0.01). These results indicate that the mechanoreceptors are involved in the sensory mechanisms for both MA and EA.
针刺的方式可大致分为手动针刺（MA）和电针（EA）。虽然已有报道称 MA 会导致组织缠绕在针上，从而激活感觉机械感受器和伤害感受器，但针刺刺激的感觉机制尚未完全清楚。为了验证机械感受器在 MA 和 EA 中的感觉机制参与不同的假说，我们在麻醉大鼠中检查了伸展激活通道阻滞剂钆对后肢 MA 和 EA 引起的血流动力学反应的影响（n = 9）。钆显著减弱了 MA 引起的心动过缓反应（-22 ± 5 与 -10 ± 3 bpm，P<0.05），并倾向于减弱 MA 引起的降压反应（-30 ± 5 与 -18 ± 4 mmHg，P = 0.06）。另一方面，钆显著减弱了 EA 引起的心动过缓（-22 ± 5 与 -9 ± 4 bpm，P<0.01）和降压反应（-32 ± 6 与 -15 ± 5 mmHg，P<0.01）。这些结果表明，机械感受器参与了 MA 和 EA 的感觉机制。
