Acupuncture Heals Stomach Ulcers And Alleviates Gastritis

Acupuncture Heals Stomach Ulcers And Alleviates Gastritis

 

Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of gastric ulcers and chronic atrophic gastritis. Two independent research teams examined these digestive conditions and determined that acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment modality.

In a study involving lab rats, acupuncture was used to treat after gastric ulcers were promoted. For the control group that did not receive acupuncture treatment, severe epithelial damage was identified. For the true acupuncture group, mild epithelial damage was identified. The microscopic images confirm that acupuncture prevents tissue damage. Acupuncture treatment commenced one day after the gastric ulcer model was established. Acupuncture was applied once per day, for a total of 7 days. Results showed via microscopic exam and biochemical markers that ulcer damage was reduced with acupuncture at Stomach 36 and Stomach 21 points.

Related Human Research
Pivoting to human clinical trials, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital researchers investigated the treatment efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis patients. The researchers determined that acupuncture produces better treatment results than conventional drug therapy. The researchers combined Stomach 36 with additional acupoints and successfully alleviated chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) in human subjects. [7]

The hospital researchers compared acupuncture with a drug therapy protocol. In powerful findings, acupuncture produced superior clinical outcomes over drug therapy. Acupuncture outperformed drug therapy in symptom improvement and quantifiable microscopic results. In addition, Helicobacter pylori clearance rates were similar.

Two groups were compared. In one group, acupuncture was administered. Acupuncture sessions were provided once per day. Patients received a consecutive 5-day treatment regimen plus a 2-day break each week. In the second group, patients received 20 mg omeprazole (once per day, administered in the morning), 500 mg amoxicillin (three times per day), 400 mg metronidazole (three times per day), and 100 mg of celecoxib (two times per day).

For both groups, each treatment course consisted of 6 weeks of treatment. All patients received 2 treatment courses in total.

Results
Acupuncture had a 92.5% total symptom improvement rate, while drug therapy had a 77.4% total symptom improvement rate (P<0.05). Acupuncture had an 88.7% total improvement rate in microscopic results, while drug therapy had a 73.6% total improvement rate in microscopic results (P<0.05). Acupuncture had an 84.9% Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) clearance rate and drug therapy had an 86.8% Helicobacter pylori clearance rate (P>0.05).

The results of the aforementioned research indicate that acupuncture is an effective treatment modality for the treatment of gastric ulcers. Researchers demonstrate that acupuncture alleviates relevant symptoms while simultaneously eliciting biochemical responses responsible for providing protective effects to the gastric mucosa.

 

References
[1] Zhang Y. Liu CC, Lian LY, Shen JC, He QD, Chen JL, Ma FQ, Yang ZB. Time-effect relationship and molecular mechanism of electroacupuncture for repair of gastric mucosal lesion [J]. Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion, 2018, 38(07): 747-752.
[2] Lanas A, Chan F. Peptic ulcer disease [J]. Lancet, 2017, 390(10094): 613-624.
[3] Guth PH, Aures D, Paulsen G. Topical aspirin plus HCl gastric lesions in the rat. Cytoprotective effect of prostaglandin, cimetidine, and probanthine [J]. Gastroenterology, 1979, 76(1):88-93.
[4] Strzalka W, Ziemienowicz A. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA): a key factor in DNA replication and cell cycle regulation [J]. Ann Bot, 2011, 107(7): 1127-1140.
[5] Zhao Q, Wang CQ, Qiao JO et al. Hydrogen sulfide promotes neurogenic inflammatory response in mouse lung tissue via substance P [J]. Chinese journal of Clinical Medicine, 2015, 22(3): 262-267.
[6] Di FP, He Y, Koenig M, et al. The discovery of indole full agonists of the neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) [J]. Bioorg Med Chem Lett, 2014, 24(16): 3974-3978.
[7] Zhang Y, Xue ZX, Hu W. Effect of acupuncture on chronic atrophic gastritis complicated with Helicobacter pylori infection​ [J]. Shaanxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2016, 37(08): 1078-1079.

From Health CMI