基于脑-肠轴理论探讨针灸治疗认知障碍的机制

认知障碍是一种主要影响认知能力（包括学习、记忆、感知和问题解决等）的心理健康障碍。认知障碍常见于阿尔茨海默病、血管性痴呆、轻度认知障碍等患者。与药物治疗相比，针灸治疗具有低成本、可耐受性和安全等特点，已成为改善认知功能的潜在工具。许多研究表明，在认知障碍的患者中，针灸治疗具有明显改善认知功能的作用。但针灸改善认知功能的机制仍不清楚。基于中医从肠治脑的理论基础以及目前实验研究，脑-肠轴与针灸改善大脑认知功能关系密切。对于针灸改善认知的脑-肠轴机制的理解能促进肠道微生物微观机制研究，但肠道微生物存在个体差异、动态变化、种类繁多等特征，以肠道稳态为调控目标的新针灸方案有待研究完善与规范。本文综述了针灸干预脑-肠轴治疗认知障碍，针灸通过维持肠道生态平衡、保持肠道菌群多样性、调整有益菌群丰度、调节代谢、促进生成脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）、抑制小胶质细胞激活、降低神经炎症反应、减少Aβ蛋白沉积等机制，实现对认知障碍的治疗。     

Acupuncture reduces pain in rats with osteoarthritis by inhibiting MCP2/CCR2 signaling pathway

Acupuncture is an emerging alternative therapy that has been beneficial for the pain of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the underlying mechanism of protective effect remains unclear. MCP1/CCR2 axis can be stimulated in various periods of OA, and we hypothesize that acupuncture may treat OA by regulating the MCP1/CCR2 axis. This study aimed to explore the effect of acupuncture at points ST35 and ST36 on the effects of hyperalgesia and cartilage in OA rats including the expression of chemokines, nerve growth factor (NGF), and inflammatory-related proteins. OA was induced in male Sprague–Dawley rats by anterior cruciate ligament transection at the right knee. The first acupuncture intervention was performed on the seventh day after surgery and once a day for seven weeks. The knee-pain-related behaviors, histology, and related protein were examined in this study. We have found that electroacupuncture at ST35 and ST36 can significantly alleviate the hyperalgesia and cartilage degeneration as well as reducing nerve sprouting in OA knee joint. Moreover, acupuncture treatment may inhibit the MCP1/CCR2 axis as well as down-regulate inflaming factor and NGF in cartilage and synovial tissue. The data presented here indicate that acupuncture exerts a protective effect against hyperalgesia and cartilage degeneration, and the mechanism might involve in chemokines and NGF pathway.