Objective: To observe the effect of electro-warmed needle (EWN, of Inner-Mongolian medicine) on fatigue rats' behavior, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortex (HPA) axis activity and immune system so as to reveal its neuro-endocrino-immune mechanism.
Methods: Male SD rats were randomized into control (n=20), model (n=20) and EWN (n=19) groups. Fatigue model was established by forcing the rat to swim in a water pool till exhaustion, once daily, continuously for 21 days. "Dinghui" (central spot over the bregmatic bone) and "Xinxue" (the center of the depression beneath the 7th thoracic vertebra) were punctured with silver needles which were warmed electrically by using a MLY-I Electrical Needle-warming Apparatus, once every 3 days, 7 sessions altogether. On the 21st day of modeling, swim-exhaustion duration (SED), and immobility time and struggle times in tail suspension test were measured. Twenty-four hours after the last swim, the rats' serum TNF-alpha, ACTH an corticosterone contents were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results: Compared with control group SED, immobility time and struggle times in tail suspension test in model group decreased, increased and lowered respectively and significantly (P < 0.01, 0.05); while in comparison with model group, the first 2 indexes of EWN group increased and lowered respectively and significantly (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found between EWN and model groups in struggle times (P > 0.05). Compared with control group, serum TNF-alpha, ACTH and corticosterone contents in model group increased significantly (P < 0.01), while in comparison with model group, the 3 indexes of EWN group were significantly lower (P < 0.01, 0.05).
Conclusion: EWN treatment can reduce fatigue-induced increase of serum TNF-alpha, ACTH and corticosterone levels, and raise motor ability, suggesting a favorable regulation of HPA axis and immune function after EWN and improvement of fatigue in fatigue