title: High-intensity laser for acupuncture-like stimulation.
abstract: The insertion of needles into specific parts of the body was shown to provide analgesic and therapeutic effects. In this study, we tested the analgesic effects of high-intensity infrared laser for acupuncture-like stimulation. Twelve adult Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 230 to 250 g were randomly assigned to laser, needle, or restraint groups. Stimulation was directed to the meridian point Taixi (KI 3) for 10 min. For laser stimulation, a pulsed Er:YAG system was used. The laser settings were adjusted to provide a focal raise in the skin temperature to about 45 degrees C. The anti-nociceptive effect was evaluated by the tail-flick test. Both needling and laser stimulation significantly increased the tail-flick latency. Peak needling effect was observed immediately after treatment, while laser stimulation was effective both immediately and 45 min after treatment. High-intensity laser stimulation may be used alternatively or in combination with conventional acupuncture needling for pain relief.
authors.affiliation: Division of Integrative Sensory Physiology, Department of Developmental and Reconstructive Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8588, Japan. jorge@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zeredo
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toda
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation; D000818:Animals; D019540:Area Under Curve; D004871:Erbium; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012881:Skin Temperature; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D004871:Erbium