title: Electroacupuncture improves burn-induced impairment in gastric motility mediated via the vagal mechanism in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Delayed gastric emptying (GE) is common in patients with severe burns. This study was designed to investigate effects and mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) on gastric motility in rats with burns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male rats (intact and vagotomized) were implanted with gastric electrodes, chest and abdominal wall electrodes for investigating the effects of EA at ST-36 (stomach-36 or Zusanli) on GE, gastric slow waves, autonomic functions, and plasma interleukin 6 (IL-6) 6 and 24 h post severe burns.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (i) Burn delayed GE (P < 0.001). Electroacupuncture improved GE 6 and 24 h post burn (P < 0.001). Vagotomy blocked the EA effect on GE. (ii) Electroacupuncture improved burn-induced gastric dysrhythmia. The percentage of normal slow waves was increased with EA 6 and 24 h post burn (P = 0.02). (iii) Electroacupuncture increased vagal activity assessed by the spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The high-frequency component reflecting vagal component was increased with EA 6 (P = 0.004) and 24 h post burn (P = 0.03, vs sham-EA). (iv) Electroacupuncture attenuated burn-induced increase in plasma IL-6 at both 6 (P = 0.03) and 24 h post burn (P = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Electroacupuncture at ST-36 improves gastric dysrhythmia and accelerates GE in rats with burns. The improvement seems to be mediated via the vagal pathway involving the inflammatory cytokine IL-6.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Sallam
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J D Z
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications*; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D018589:Gastroparesis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014628:Vagotomy; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: electroacupuncture; gastric emptying; gastric slow wave; heart rate variability; interleukin 6