title: Acupuncture-moxibustion in treating irritable bowel syndrome: how does it work?
abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional intestinal disease characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort and altered bowel habits. It has drawn great attention because of its high prevalence, reoccurring symptoms, and severe influence on patients' lives. Many clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of acupuncture-moxibustion in treating IBS. Increasing attention has been paid to research regarding the action mechanisms of acupuncture-moxibustion for IBS, and the adoption of modern techniques has achieved some progress. This article reviews the latest advances among action mechanism studies from the perspectives of gastrointestinal motility, visceral hypersensitivity, the brain-gut axis, the neuroendocrine system, and the immune system. It is shown that acupuncture-moxibustion can effectively regulate the above items, and thus, this treatment should have a high efficacy in the treatment of IBS. This article also identifies existing problems in current mechanism research and raises several ideas for future studies. Further revelations regarding these action mechanisms will promote the application of acupuncture-moxibustion in treating IBS.
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Peng
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Cai-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Huan-Gan
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Cui-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Xiao-Peng Ma, Jue Hong, Dan Zhang, Huan-Gan Wu, Cui-Hong Zhang, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Immunology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Sian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meeuwsen
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D055098:Endocrine Cells / Q000502:physiology; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity; D007422:Intestines / Q000503:physiopathology; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009071:Moxibustion; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009490:Neurosecretory Systems
keywords: Acupuncture-moxibustion; Brain-gut axis; Gastrointestinal motility; Irritable bowel syndrome; Mechanism study; Visceral hypersensitivity