title: Antihyperglycaemic effect of laser acupuncture treatment at BL20 in diabetic rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the antihyperglycaemic activity of laser acupuncture stimulation at 650 and 980 nm at BL20 in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy healthy adult male albino Wistar rats weighing 250±50 g were divided into seven groups of 10 animals each. Groups I-III comprised healthy control rats which were untreated (I) or stimulated with laser acupuncture at 650 nm (II) and 980 nm (III), respectively. Groups IV-VII underwent induction of diabetes with a single intraperitoneal administration of STZ at 50 mg/kg. Animals with blood glucose levels of ≥200 mg/dL on the fifth day were used for the experiments and were left untreated (group IV), treated with glibenclamide (group V) or stimulated with laser acupuncture at 650 nm (group VI) and 980 nm (group VII), respectively. Laser acupuncture was applied at BL20 on alternate days for a total of 12 sessions over a 28-day period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 28 days of treatment, STZ-induced diabetic rats stimulated with laser acupuncture at 650 and 980 nm had significantly lower glucose levels compared with untreated diabetic rats (242.0±65.0 and 129.8±33.2 vs 376.5±10.0 mg/dL, both p≤0.05). Treatment at 980 nm also attenuated the increase in glucose between day 1 and day 28 compared with the glibenclamide-treated diabetic group (41.5±19.6 mg/dL vs 164.1±13.7 g/dL, p<0.05). Laser acupuncture treatment did not affect the blood count or biochemical profile and was not associated with any morphological changes in the pancreas, liver, kidney or spleen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stimulation with laser acupuncture at 650 and 980 nm at BL20 in STZ-induced diabetic rats has antihyperglycaemic activity. The results support further evaluation of laser acupuncture as an alternative or complementary treatment for the control of hyperglycaemia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología Celular y Productos Naturales, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cornejo-Garrido
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Acupuntura, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Becerril-Chávez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Acupuntura, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carlín-Vargas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Acupuntura, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ordoñez-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Acupuntura, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: María Del Carmen
authors.initials: Mdel C
authors.lastname: Abrajan-González
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Acupuntura, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de la Cruz-Ramírez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología Celular y Productos Naturales, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ordaz-Pichardo
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000628:therapy*; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000628:therapy*; D007834:Lasers; D008297:Male; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose
keywords: COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE; DIABETES; LASER THERAPY, LOW LEVEL