Primary osteoporosis (PO) is a common disease that was characterized by a systemic impairment of bone mass and microarchitecture that results in fragility fractures and constitutes a pressing public health problem. But the effect of acupuncture or moxibustion treatment for PO is controversial.To provide a comprehensive systematic overview of current evidence from systematic reviews (SR)/Meta-analysis of acupuncture treatment for PO pertaining to risk of bias, quality of evidence and report quality.A total of 9 international and Chinese databases were searched for SR/meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The risk of bias of SR/meta-analysis was appraised using the risk of bias in systematic reviews (ROBIS) instrument, the quality of the evidence was evaluated via Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE), and the report quality of the included studies are estimated by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA).According to ROBIS, only 2 articles were with risk of low bias; according to PRISMA, and most articles were reported incomplete, mainly in Q2, Q7, Q24, and Q27; according to GRADE, a total of 28 outcome indicators were evaluated under 4 different interventions of experimental group and control group: the evidence quality of bone mineral density (BMD) from treatment of acupuncture and moxibustion/acupuncture and moxibustion plus was high or moderate; Visual Analogue Score (VAS) of acupuncture plus moxibustion or acupuncture plus moxibustion plus other was low or very low; clinical effectiveness of acupuncture plus moxibustion or acupuncture plus moxibustion plus other was uncertain.Acupuncture and moxibustion can improve the BMD of PO patients according to high-quality evidence, and may benefit VAS, pain score, clinical efficacy based on moderate or low-quality evidence. Further research that provides higher quality evidence of SR/RCTs of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for PO is required.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of acupuncture plus moxibustion on learning-memory ability and expression of hippocampal Janus kinase-2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3)/suppressors of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3) signaling in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) rats, so as to reveal their mechanisms underlying improvement of AD.

METHODS:A total of 60 SD rats were randomly divided into four groups：normal control, sham-operation, model and acupuncture-moxibustion (Acu-moxi,＝15 in each group) groups. The AD model was established by microinjection of β-amyloid 1-42(Aβ1-42，5 µL)into the bilateral hippocampus. Seven days after modeling, Acu-moxi intervention was given. After insertion of acupuncture needles into"Baihui"(GV20) and bilateral"Shenshu"(BL23) and manipulating them for a while, the needles were then retained for 15 min, when, the mild moxibustion was performed at the same time. The treatment was conducted once daily, 5 times a week for consecutive 4 weeks. After the treatment, Morris water maze test was used to detect the animals' learning-memory ability. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were respectively used to detect the number of positive cells and protein expression levels of JAK2, STAT3 and SOCS3 in the hippocampus tissue.

RESULTS:Following modeling and compared with the normal control and sham-operation groups, the average escape latency was significantly prolonged (<0.01), and the number of the original platform crossing and the residence time in the platform quadrant were significantly shortened in the model group (<0.01). The numbers of hippocampal JAK2- and STAT3-positive cells and expression levels of hippocampal JAK2 and STAT3 proteins were significantly increased (<0.01), and the number of hippocampal SOCS3-positive cells as well as the expression of SOCS3 protein significantly decreased in the model group relevant to the normal control and sham-operation groups (<0.01). After the intervention, the average escape latency was significantly shortened (<0.01), and the number of the original platform crossing and the residence time in the platform quadrant were significantly increased in the Acu-moxi group (<0.01), and the expression levels of JAK2 and STAT3 were significantly down-regulated and that of SOCS3 was considerably up-regulated in the Acu-moxi group relevant to the model group (<0.01)．.

CONCLUSION:Acu-moxi intervention can improve the learning-memory ability in AD rats, which is associated with its functions in inhibiting hippocampal JAK2/STAT3 signaling and up-regulating SOCS3 (a negative feedback factor) protein level.

Aim. To compare whether there is different effect between electroacupuncture (EA) and moxibustion (Mox) on visceral hypersensitivity (their analgesic effects) in constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (C-IBS). Methods. EA at 1 mA and 3 mA and Mox at 43°C and 46°C were applied to the Shangjuxu (ST37, bilateral) acupoint in rats with C-IBS and normal rats. An abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) score was used to assess visceral hypersensitivity. Toluidine blue staining was used to assess mast cell (MC) activity in colon of rats. Immunochemistry was used to measure 5-HT and 5-HT4 receptor expression in the colon. Results. AWR scores in all EA (1 mA and 3 mA) and Mox (43°C and 46°C) treatment groups after colorectal distention (CRD) stimulation pressure of 20, 40, 60, and 80 mmHg were significantly lower than those of the model (MC) group (P all<0.01). The MC counts and degranulation rates in the colon of all EA and Mox treatment groups and the MC group were significantly higher than those of the NC group (P all<0.01). MC degranulation rates in the colon of all EA and Mox treatment groups were lower than those of the MC group (P all<0.05). 5-HT expression in colon of all EA and Mox treatment groups was significantly lower than that of the MC group (P all<0.01), and 5-HT4R expression in colon of both EA groups was significantly higher than that of the MC group (P both<0.01). Conclusion. EA and Mox treatments may both ameliorate visceral hypersensitivity at different degree in rats with C-IBS, and EA treatment was better than Mox.

BACKGROUND:In this preliminary study, we examined the effect of acupressure, acupuncture and moxibustion (oriental treatments) to prevent of the relapse/deterioration of perinatal depression in women with pregnancy-related anxiety and previous depression.

METHODS AND RESULTS:Between 2014 and 2016, there were 48 women with pregnancy-related anxiety and previous depression who had delivery at≥ 22 weeks' gestation in our institute. Of these, oriental treatments were performed in eight and two women (totally 10, 21%) during pregnancy and postpartum, respectively. One of the 10 (10%) who received oriental treatments admitted depressive symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum, while 18 ofthe rest 38 who did not receive oriental treatments admitted depressive symptoms (47%, P = 0.065).

CONCLUSION:The oriental treatments may be useful for pregnant women who need perinatal mental health care.