Objective:This study was done to determine the effects of different courses of moxibustion on a rat knee osteoarthritis(KOA)model,and explore the dose–effect relationship of moxibustion on KOA from the perspectives of intestinal flora and inflammatory factors.Methods:Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups:normal,model,moxibustion for 2 weeks,moxibustion for 4 weeks and moxibustion for 6 weeks groups(n=5 each group).A KOA rat model was induced by monosodium iodoacetate,and moxibustion intervention was performed at the acupoints“Dubi”(ST35)and“Zusanli”(ST36),once every other day.Pathologic changes in the cartilage of rat knee joints were assessed after intervention,and fecal samples were subjected to 16 S r RNA high-throughput sequencing for microbial diversity analysis.Results:Damage to the knee articular cartilage was obvious in the model group,which also had increased levels of pro-inflammatory factors,decreased levels of anti-inflammatory factors,and intestinal flora disorders with decreased diversity.The degree of cartilage damage in the 4 and 6 weeks of moxibustion groups was significantly improved compared with the model group.The 4 and 6 weeks of moxibustion groups also demonstrated reduced levels of interleukin-1βand tumor necrosis factor-a and increased levels of interleukin-10(P<0.05).Both the abundance and diversity of the intestinal flora were increased,approaching those of the normal group.Abundances of probiotics Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group and Ruminococcaceae UCG-014 increased,while that of the pathogenic bacteria Lachnospiraceae NK4 A136 group decreased(P<0.05).Although the abundance of Lachnospiraceae NK4 A136 group decreased in the 2 weeks of moxibustion group compared with the model group(P<0.05),there was no statistically significant difference in serum inflammatory factors,flora species diversity or degree of pathological damage compared with the model group.Conclusion:Moxibustion treatment led to significant improvements in the intestinal flora and inflammatory
Objective: To observe the effect of thermosensitive moxibustion on anxiety and depression in the patients of insomnia differentiated as liver qi stagnation.Methods: From January 2015 to January 2017, 60 patients of insomnia differentiated as liver qi stagnation were collected in Shijiazhuang Municipal Chinese Medicine Hospital. According to the random number table, the patients were randomized into a moxibustion group(30 cases) and an estazolam group(30 cases). In the moxibustion group, the thermosensitive moxibustion was adopted alternatively to the bilateral yuan-source points of the liver and gallbladder meridians. In the estazolam group, estazolam, 1 mg was prescribed for oral administration before sleep every day. After 15-day treatments, the sleep quality, the severity of anxiety and depression and the therapeutic effects were observed before and after treatment in the two groups.Results: Before treatment, the differences were not significant in the scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI), the self-rating anxiety scale(SAS) and the self-rating depression scale(SDS) between the two groups(all P〉0.05). After treatment, the scores of PSQJ, SAS and SDS were all reduced remarkably as compared with those before treatment in the two groups(all P〈0.05). PSQI score was(6.72 ±2.311)points in the moxibustion group and was(5.37 ±2.621) points in the estazolam group. SAS score was(31.76 ± 6.511) points in the moxibustion group and was(39.62 ± 4.371) points in the estazolam group.SDS score was(35.98 ±5.161) points in the moxibustion group and was(46.38 ±4.971) points in the estazolam group. After treatment, the scores of PSQI, SAS and SDS in the moxibustion group were reduced more remarkably as compared with the estazolam group, indicating the significant differences(all P 〈0.05). After treatment, the scores of sleep efficacy and TCM symptoms were(72.65 ± 14.36) points and(69.36 ±4.28) points respectively in the moxibustion group,