title: Sino-European transcontinental basic and clinical high-tech acupuncture studies-part 2: acute stimulation effects on heart rate and its variability in patients with insomnia.
abstract: This second part of a series of Sino-European high-tech acupuncture studies describes the first clinical transcontinental teleacupuncture measurements in patients with insomnia. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements in 28 patients (mean age ± SD: 41.9 ± 14.6 years) were performed under standardized conditions in Harbin, China, and the data analysis was performed in Graz, Austria. Similar to the first part of the series, the electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded by an HRV Medilog AR12 system during acupuncture of the Shenmen point (HT7) on the left hand. HR decreased significantly (P < 0.001) during and after acupuncture stimulation of the HT7 acupuncture point. Total HRV increased significantly (P < 0.05) immediately after acupuncture stimulation, but there was no long-lasting effect. The values of the low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) band increased significantly after the stimulation compared to baseline values; however, the LF/HF ratio showed no significant changes. Together with the results of previous studies, the present results can serve as a solid basis for further development of acupressure or acupuncture stimulation equipment for complementary use in treating insomnia.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine and Stronach Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, TCM Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Litscher
authors.forename: Guangyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gaischek
authors.forename: Haixue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuang