OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of warming moxibustion Tianshu(ST 25, bilateral) and Qihai(CV6) in patients with diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome(D-IBS) by assessing predominant factors, and determining the best factor combinations and their interactions. To identify the optimal quantity of warming moxibustion Tianshu(ST 25, bilateral) and Qihai(CV 6) to achieve optimal efficacy.METHODS: An L9(3~4) orthogonal design was applied to 233 confirmed subjects based on the three most influential factors and the three most frequently used levels. Nine programs were designed.Subjects were assigned to four subgroups according to age and gender; each subject underwent one of the nine programs randomly. We selected Tianshu(ST 25, bilateral) and Qihai(CV 6). The scores of symptoms and the IBS Quality of Life(IBS-QOL) were evaluated after the final treatment.RESULTS: After treatment, clinical symptoms of all patients were significantly improved(P = 0.001).Quality of life also improved significantly(P < 0.05).For all the participants, frequency was the dominating factor regarding symptoms(P = 0.01). Duration was the dominating factor for quality of life(P =0.0001). The best combination for improving symptoms in 30-40-year-old male and female patients was two courses of 10 min each once a day, and for41-50-year-old male and female patients it was three courses of 10 min(males) or 30 min(females)twice a day. The best combination for quality of life was three courses of 20 min once a day. No interaction was found between frequency and course, or frequency and duration.CONCLUSION: Warming moxibustion Tianshu(ST25, bilateral) and Qihai(CV 6) is a promising therapy for D-IBS. To acquire optimal efficacy, the three main factors(duration, frequency and treatment course) of the warming moxibustion should reach a specific quantity and be combined appropriately.
In China,moxibustion is reported to be useful and has few side effects for chronic fatigue syndrome,but its mechanisms are largely unknown.More recently,the focus has been on the wealth of information supporting stress as a factor in chronic fatigue syndrome,and largely concerns dysregulation in the stress-related hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.In the present study,we aimed to determine the effect of moxibustion on behavioral symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome rats and examine possible mechanisms.Rats were subjected to a combination of chronic restraint stress and forced swimming to induce chronic fatigue syndrome.The acupoints Guanyuan（CV4） and Zusanli（ST36,bilateral） were simultaneously administered moxibustion.Untreated chronic fatigue syndrome rats and normal rats were used as controls.Results from the forced swimming test,open field test,tail suspension test,real-time PCR,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and western blot assay showed that moxibustion treatment decreased m RNA expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone in the hypothalamus,and adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone levels in plasma,and markedly increased progranulin m RNA and protein expression in the hippocampus.These findings suggest that moxibustion may relieve the behavioral symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome,at least in part,by modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and upregulating hippocampal progranulin.
Tao YiLi QiJi LiJing-jing LeLei ShaoXin DuJing-cheng Dong
