American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. · Jul 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialEffects and possible mechanisms of acupuncture at ST36 on upper and lower abdominal symptoms induced by rectal distension in healthy volunteers.
Background acupuncture (AP) has been shown to have a therapeutic potential for gastrointestinal motility disorders. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects and possible mechanisms of acupuncture on postprandial upper and lower abdominal symptoms induced by rectal distension (RD). Twenty healthy volunteers were involved in a two-session study (AP and sham-AP, AP and no-AP, or sham-AP and no-AP). ⋯ Finally, in the experiment with eight volunteers, neither sham-AP nor no-AP showed any effects on RD-induced impairment in gastric slow waves, abdominal symptoms, or vagal activity (P > 0.05). The conclusions are RD induces upper or lower abdominal symptoms and impairs gastric slow waves in healthy volunteers. AP at ST36 is able to improve upper and lower abdominal symptoms and impaired gastric slow waves induced by RD, possibly mediated via the vagal pathway.