A STUDY ON THE "STABILIZING AND TRANQUILIZING" EFFECTS OF NEIGUAN ACUPUNCTURE

Cheng Baihua, Pan Cuiqin, Zhu Siling, Zhang Huizhen, Zhang Manii, Chen Dazhong

(Acupuncture Anesthesia Research Department, Shanghai Second Medical College, Shanghai)

Traditional Chinese medicine proposes that acupuncture at Neiguan point produces "Stabilizing and Tranquilizing" effects on cardiovascular and nervous systems. It is intended in this work to identify such effects through ECG and echocardiography, and biochemical determinations on plasma cAMP, cGMP, Cortisol etc. We found that needling at Neiguan points bilaterally effected significant clinical improvements in patients of acute myocardial infarction and rheumatic valvular heart disease. The STIs each pa tients group were shortened, p<0,05 or 0.01. The SSt segment in the ECG was decreased (P<0.05 in single side limit). These lowering indicated improvements on myocadial function and ischemia. Moreover, as shown in echocardiography examinations, 70,6-76.3% of the rheumatic valvular heart patients had a decrease of the internal diameter of the left ventricle during diastole and 52-70.6% of the cases showed improvement on EF slope of the anterior mitral valve after acupuncture. This perhaps reflected a strengthening of myocardial contractibility.

The plasma cAMP level of acute myocardial infarction patients showed a significant decrease. Comparing this result with our recent observation, that cAMP increases oxygen consumption in rat myocardial muscle slice, it would mean that the Neikuan point produces an improvement of mycoardial function through a reduction of myocardial oxygen consumption. The authors propose that the above effects are contained in the Chinese cardiac stabilization concept.

In rheumatic valvular heart disease in which the patients do not suffer from myocardial ischemia, an improvement of the myocardial function was also seen. However, the plasma cAMP level was increased causing an enhanced myocardial contractibility and improvement in clinical symptoms. The needling of the same Neiguan point in different cases has produced different but specific beneficial effects, which might be an important part of the cardiac stabilization in acupuncture.

A significant analgesia effect was seen in patients of acute myocardial infarction and rheumatic valvular heart desease in acupuncture. The relief or diminution of angina pectoris is 100%. A significant decrease in plasma cortisol level occurred immediately in patients of rheumatic valvular heart disease after acupuncture (P<0.05) and a normalization of the cortisol level seemed to appear during the course of treatment. These phenomena might reflect a relief from the stress situation in patients. The author suggests that these effects might be referred to as the "Tranquilizing" of Neiguan point. The mechanism through which these effects are produced is unknown but might be connected to the degradation of ACTH and releasing of the morphine like products during acupuncture.