Shanghai Key Laboratory of Health Identification and Assessment/Laboratory of TCM Four Diagnostic Information, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2018 Oct 22;2018:3128378. doi: 10.1155/2018/3128378. eCollection 2018.
Acupoint therapy is one of the therapeutic means in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concerning acupoints and meridians, including manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, external application, acupoint injection, and catgut embedding. In the treatment of diabetes and its common chronic complications, acupoint therapy has proved to have specific curative effect and notable advantages. Single or combined with western medicine, it has superior efficacy and less side effects than western medicine alone. Studying its mechanism can provide experimental basis for clinical treatment. Relevant researches in the recent 5 years mainly focused on the mechanism of electroacupuncture, point injection, catgut embedding, etc. in the treatment of diabetes and common diabetic complications such as neuropathy, nephropathy, and hepatopathy. The possible theories involve the regulation of nerve conduction, signal pathways, hormone level, protein expression, oxidative stress level, structure restoration, etc. The most studied acupoints are Zusanli (ST36), Shenshu (BL23), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Yishu (EX-B3), and Zhongwan (CV12). However, most of the studies have been based on diabetes model rats rather than clinical trials. Moreover, the mechanism of acupoint therapy treating other chronic complications like diabetic retinopathy and that of other effective methods like pressing ear with beans, auricular points plaster therapy, and external application remain unclear. Therefore, this aspect still awaits further research.
穴位疗法是中医（TCM）中涉及穴位和经络的治疗手段之一，包括手动针灸、电针、艾灸、外用药、穴位注射和埋线。在治疗糖尿病及其常见慢性并发症方面，穴位疗法已被证明具有特定的疗效和显著的优势。与西药单独使用相比，它单独或联合使用具有更好的疗效和更少的副作用。研究其机制可以为临床治疗提供实验依据。近 5 年来的相关研究主要集中在电针、穴位注射、埋线等治疗糖尿病及其常见糖尿病并发症（如神经病变、肾病和肝病）的机制上。可能的理论涉及神经传导、信号通路、激素水平、蛋白表达、氧化应激水平、结构修复等的调节。研究最多的穴位是足三里（ST36）、肾俞（BL23）、三阴交（SP6）、胰俞（EX-B3）和中脘（CV12）。然而，大多数研究都是基于糖尿病模型大鼠，而不是临床试验。此外，穴位疗法治疗其他慢性并发症（如糖尿病性视网膜病变）的机制以及其他有效方法（如压豆、耳穴贴压疗法和外用药）的机制尚不清楚。因此，这方面仍有待进一步研究。
