Electroacupuncture in the treatment of obesity.
Obesity is becoming one of the most common health problems in the world. Many other disorders, such as hypertension and diabetes are considered as the consequences of obesity. Since effective remedies are rare (only two drugs, Orlistat and Sibutramine, were officially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for long-term obesity treatment so far), researchers are trying to discover new therapies for obesity, and acupuncture is among the most popular alternative approaches. To facilitate weight reduction, one can use manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture (EA) or transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS). As the parameters of the EA or TEAS can be precisely characterized and the results are more or less reproducible, this review will focus on EA as a treatment modality for obesity. Results obtained in this laboratory in recent five years will be summarized in some detail.
Wang
Fei
F
Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China. wuling51@263.net
Tian
De-Run
DR
Han
Ji-Sheng
JS
D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology; D020738:Leptin / Q000378:metabolism; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D000071247:Uncoupling Protein 3; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000096:biosynthesis
D054439:Ghrelin; D007473:Ion Channels; D020738:Leptin; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D000071247:Uncoupling Protein 3; D000521:alpha-MSH; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases