title: Effects and mechanisms of transcutaneous electroacupuncture on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
abstract: Nausea and vomiting are one of the major complications of chemotherapy for cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the emetic effects and mechanisms involving serotonin and dopamine of needleless transcutaneous electroacupuncture (TEA) at Neiguan (PC6) and Jianshi (PC5) on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with cancers. Seventy-two patients with chemotherapy were randomly divided into sham-TEA group (sham-TEA, n = 34) and TEA group (n = 38). TEA was performed at PC 6 and PC 5 (1 h, bid) in combination with granisetron. Sham-TEA was delivered at nonacupoints using the same parameters. We found the following. (1) In the acute phase, the conventional antiemetic therapy using Ondansetron effectively reduced nausea and vomiting; the addition of TEA did not show any additive effects. In the delayed phase, however, TEA significantly increased the rate of complete control (P < 0.01) and reduced the nausea score (P < 0.05), compared with sham-TEA. (2) TEA significantly reduced serum levels of 5-HT and dopamine in comparison with sham-TEA. Those results demonstrate that needleless transcutaneous electroacupuncture at PC6 using a watch-size digital stimulator improves emesis and reduces nausea in the delayed phase of chemotherapy in patients with cancers. This antiemetic effect is possibly mediated via mechanisms involving serotonin and dopamine.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, China ; Division of Gastroenterology, Sixth People's Hospital of Shaoxing, Shaoxing 312000, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Li-Na
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Ningbo Pace Translational Medical Research Center, Beilun, Ningbo 315043, China ; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: Jiande D Z
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Chen