PAIN
Volume 147, Issue 1 , Pages 60-66 , 15 December 2009

Clinical and endocrinological changes after electro-acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee

  • Sadia Ahsin

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physiology, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, Pakistan
    • Department of Natural Sciences, School of Health and Social Science, Middlesex University, UK
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Address: Department of Physiology, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, 6, Zafar Akbar Road, Lalazar Colony, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Tel.: +92 515512800; fax: +92 515582441.
    • ,
  • Salman Saleem

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anaesthesiology, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
    • ,
  • Ahsin Manzoor Bhatti

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, Combined Military Hospital Malir Cantt, Karachi, Pakistan
    • ,
  • Ray K. Iles

      Affiliations

    • Department of Natural Sciences, School of Health and Social Science, Middlesex University, UK
    • ,
  • Mohammad Aslam

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physiology, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Received 25 September 2008 ,Revised 5 July 2009 ,Accepted 10 August 2009.

References 

  1. Andersson S, Lundeberg T. Acupuncture – from empiricism to science. Functional background to acupuncture effects in pain and disease. Med Hypotheses. 1995;45:271–281
  2. Altman R, Asch E, Bloch D, Bole D, Borenstein K, Brandt K, et al. Development of criteria for the classification and reporting of osteoarthritis. Classification of osteoarthritis of the knee. Arthritis Rheum. 1986;29:1039–1049
  3. Altman R, Brandt K, Hochberg M, Moskowitz R, Bellamy N, Bloch DA, Buckwalter J, Dougados M, Ehrlich G, Lequesne M, Lohmander S, Murphy WA Jr., Rosario-Jansen T, Schwartz B, Trippel S. Design and conduct of clinical trials in patients with osteoarthritis: recommendations from a task force of the Osteoarthritis Research Society. Results from a workshop. Osteoarthritis Cartilage1996;4:217–43.
  4. Apkarian AV, Bushnell MC, Treede RD, Zubieta JK. Human brain mechanisms of pain perception and regulation in health and disease. Eur J Pain. 2005;9:463–484
  5. Beinfield H. Tribulations and Trials: Acupuncture Study Designs Affect Outcome. Altern Ther Health Med 2002;8:40–3.
  6. Bellamy N, Buchanan WW, Goldsmith CH, Campbell J, Stitt LW. Validation study of WOMAC: a health status instrument for measuring clinically important patient relevant outcomes to anti-rheumatic drug therapy in patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee. J Rheumatol. 1988;15:1833–1840
  7. Bellamy N, Kirwan J, Boers M, Brooks P, Strand V, Tugwell P, et al. Recommendations for a core set outcome measure for future phase III clinical trials in knee, hip and hand OA. Consensus development at OMERACT III. J Rheumatol. 1997;24:799–802
  8. Berman BM, Lao L, Langenberg P, Lee WL, Gilpin AM, Hochberg MC. Effectiveness of acupuncture as adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Int Med. 2004;141:901–910
  9. Berman BM, Singh BB, Lao L, Langenberg P, Li H, Hadhazy V, Bareta J, Hochberg M. A randomized trial of acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee. Rheumatology (Oxford) 1999;38:346–54.
  10. Boers M, Brooks P, Strand VC, Tugwell P. The OMERACT filter for outcome measures in rheumatology [editorial]. J Rheumatol. 1998;25:198–199
  11. Bragin EO, Malygina SI, Zharova TV, Erygina EG. Functional changes in the pituitary–adrenal system during the action of electroacupuncture on patients with spinal osteochondrosis. Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult. 1989;40–44
  12. Brown ML, Ulett GA, Stern JA. Acupuncture loci: techniques for location. Am J Chin Med. 1974;72:685
  13. Cheng R, McKibbin L, Roy B, Pomeranz B. Electroacupuncture elevates blood cortisol levels in naive horses; sham treatment has no effect. Int J Neurosci. 1980;10:95–97
  14. Christensen BV, Iuhl IU, Vilbek H, Bulow HH, Dreijer NC, Rasmussen HF. Acupuncture treatment of severe knee osteoarthrosis. A long-term study. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 1992;36:519–525
  15. Ernst E, White AR. Acupuncture for back pain: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Arch Int Med. 1998;158:2235–2241
  16. Ernst E, White A. A review of problems in clinical acupuncture research. Am J Chinese Med. 1997;25:3–11
  17. Ezzo J, Hadhazy V, Birch S, Lao L, Kaplan G, Hochberg M. Acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee: a systematic review. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2001;44:819–825
  18. Farshad M, Ahadian . Acupuncture in pain medicine: an integrated approach to the management of refractory pain. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2002;6:444–451
  19. Gabis L, Shklar B, Geva D. Immediate influence of transcranial electrostimulation on pain and beta endorphin blood levels. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2003;82:81–85
  20. Ganong WF. Review of medical physiology. 21st ed. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill; 2003. p. 113.
  21. Georgieva T, Maleeva A. The effect of electroacupuncture analgesia on the plasma levels of cortisol and aldosterone in orthopedic operations. Khirurgiia Sofiia. 1991;44:32–36
  22. Hammerschlag R. Acupuncture: on what should its evidence base be based? Altern Therapies Health Med 2003;95:34–5.
  23. Iguchi Y, Tokuda H, Tamura S, Kishioka S, Ozaki M, Yamamoto H. Effects of electroacupuncture on beta-endorphin contents in rats. Nippon Yakurigaku Zasshi. 1985;86:105–114
  24. Iranmanesh A, Lizarralde G, Johnson ML, Veldhuis JD. Circadian, ultradian, and episodic release of beta-endorphin in men, and its temporal coupling with cortisol. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1989;68:1019–1026
  25. Jensen MP, Karoly P, Braver S. The measurement of clinical pain intensity: a comparison of six methods. Pain. 1986;27:117–126
  26. Johansen O, Brox J, Flaten MA. Placebo and nocebo responses, cortisol, and circulating beta-endorphin. Psychosom Med. 2003;65:786–790
  27. Jones AK, Cunningham VJ, Ha-Kawa S, Fujiwara T, Luthra SK, Silva S, et al. Changes in central opioid receptor binding in relation to inflammation and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Br J Rheumatol. 1994;33:909–916
  28. Karen JS, Daniel C. Developing methods for acupuncture research: rationale for and design of a pilot study evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture for chronic low back pain. Altern Therapies Health Med. 2003;9:54–60
  29. Koo ST, Park YI, Lim KS, Chung K, Chung JM. Acupuncture analgesia in a new rat model of ankle sprain pain. Pain 2002;99:423–31.
  30. Kotani N, Hashimoto H, Sato Y, Sessler DI, Yoshioka H, Kitayama M, et al. Preoperative intradermal acupuncture reduces postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, analgesic requirement, and sympathoadrenal responses. Anesthesiology. 2001;95:349–356
  31. Lee SC, Yin SJ, Lee ML, Tsai WJ, Sim CB. Effect of acupuncture on serum cortisol level and dopamine beta hydroxylase activity in normal Chinese. Am J Chin Med. 1982;10:62–69
  32. Liao YY, Seto K, Saito H, Kawakami M. Effects of acupuncture on adrenocortical hormone production. II. Effect of acupuncture on the response of adreno-cortical hormone production to stress. Am J Chin Med. 1980;8:160–166
  33. Machelska H. Targeting of opioid-producing leukocytes for pain control. Neuropeptides. 2007;41:355–363
  34. Masala A, Satta G, Alagna S, Zolo TA, Rovasio PP, Rassu S. Suppression of electroacupuncture(EA)-induced beta-endorphin and ACTH release by hydrocortisone in man. Absence of effects on EA-induced anaesthesia. Acta Endocrinol. 1983;103:469–472
  35. Matejec R, Ruwoldt R, Bödeker RH, Hempelmann G, Teschemacher H. Release of beta-endorphin immunoreactive material under perioperative conditions into blood or cerebrospinal fluid: significance for postoperative pain?. Anesth Analg. 2003;96:481–486
  36. Pan B, Castro-Lopes J, Coimbra A. Chemical sensory deafferentation abolishes hypothalamic pituitary activation induced by noxious stimulation or electroacupuncture but only decreases that caused by immobilization stress. A c-fos study. Neuroscience. 1997;78:1059–1068
  37. Peter W, George L, Conway Joy. Acupuncture versus placebo for the treatment of chronic mechanical neck pain. Ann Int Med. 2004;141:911–919
  38. Quen JM. Acupuncture and western medicine. Bull Hist Med. 1975;49:196–205
  39. Roth LU, Maret-Maric A, Adler RH, Neuenschwander BE. Acupuncture points have subjective (needling sensation) and objective (serum cortisol increase) specificity. Acupuncture Med. 1997;15:26–37
  40. Salim M. Acupuncture treatment and anaesthesia. 5th ed. Islamabad: Shahab Printers; 1999. p. 83–4.
  41. Sjolund B, Terenius L, Eriksson M. Increased cerebrospinal fluid levels of endorphins after electro-acupuncture. Acta Physiol Scand. 1977;100:382–384
  42. Stein C, Hassan AH, Lehrberger K, Giefing J, Yassouridis A , Local analgesic effect of endogenous opioid peptides. Lancet 1993;342:321–4.
  43. Taylor T, Dluhy RG, Williams GH. β-Endorphin suppresses adrenocarticotropin and cortisol levels in normal human subjects. J Clinc Endocrionol Metab. 1983;57:592–596
  44. Tukmachi E, Jubb R, Dempsey E, Jones P. The effect of acupuncture on the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis – an open randomised controlled study. Acupunct Med. 2004;22:14–22
  45. Wang SM, Kain ZN, White P. Acupuncture analgesia: I. The scientific basis. Anesth Analg. 2008;06:602–10.
  46. Wewers ME, Lowe NK. A critical review of visual analogue scales in the measurement of clinical phenomena. Res Nurs Health. 1990;13:227–236
  47. White AR, Ernst E. A systematic review of randomised controlled trials of acupuncture for neck pain. Rheumatology. 1999;38:143–147
  48. White AR, Filshie J, Cummings TM. Clinical trials of acupuncture: consensus recommendations for optimal treatment, sham controls and blinding. Complement Ther Med. 2001;9:237–245
  49. Yin G, Liu Z. Advanced modern Chinese acupuncture therapy. Beijing: New World Press; 2000;
  50. Zalman S, Agus MD Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomised trial. Lancet. 2005;366:136–143
  51. Zhang RX, Lao L, Wang X, Fan A, Wang L, Ren K, et al. Electroacupuncture attenuates inflammation in a Rat model. J Altern Complement Med. 2005;11:135–142
  52. Zhao ZQ. Neural mechanism underlying acupuncture analgesia. Prog Neurobiol. 2008;85:355–375

PII: S0304-3959(09)00451-5

doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.08.004

PAIN
Volume 147, Issue 1 , Pages 60-66 , 15 December 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution