Birefringence of Collagen Fibres in Rat Calcaneal Tendons Treated with Acupuncture during Three Phases of Healing

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos dos Santos Almeida ◽  
Letícia Prado Oliveira ◽  
Cristiano Pedrozo Vieira ◽  
Flávia Da Ré Guerra ◽  
Edson Rosa Pimentel
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Optical Anisotropy ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Tendon Healing ◽  
Collagen Fibre ◽  
Acupuncture Points ◽  
Manual Acupuncture ◽  
Collagen Fibres ◽  
Bradford Method ◽  
Molecular Organisation

Background Birefringence is an optical anisotropy that is investigated by polarisation microscopy, and has been valuable for the study of the oriented organisation of collagen fibres in tendons. However, the application of this technology to evaluate the effect of different acupuncture points during tendon healing has not yet been described. Objectives To evaluate the concentration of non-collagenous proteins (NCP) and birefringence in rat calcaneal tendons following injury during the three different phases of healing: inflammatory (7th day), proliferative (14th day), and remodelling (21st day). Methods Tendons of 120 Wistar rats were tenotomised and left untreated (teno group, n=24), treated with manual acupuncture at ST36 (ST36 group, n=24), BL57 (BL57 group, n=24) or ST36+BL57 (SB group, n=24), or treated with electroacupuncture at ST36+BL57 (EA group, n=24). Tendon samples were collected at 7, 14 and 21 days after injury (n=8 per group). NCP concentrations were measured using the Bradford method (n=4 each) and birefringence was examined using polarisation microscopy and image analysis (n=4 each). Comparison was also made with healthy (non-tenotomised) tendons in a subgroup of rats (n=4 each). Results Manual acupuncture at ST36 and BL57 increased molecular organisation of collagen fibres on day 14 and 21 after injury. Isolated use of BL57 and ST36 also increased collagen fibre organisation when examined on day 14 and 21, respectively. No significant increase in NCP concentration was observed in any of the treated tenotomised groups. Conclusions Acupuncture, through putative anti-inflammatory and mechanotransductor effects, may have a role in strengthening tendons and increasing resistance to re-rupture.

Acupuncture and moxibustion stimulate fibroblast proliferation and neoangiogenesis during tissue repair of experimental excisional injuries in adult female Wistar rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Hamilton Ricardo Alonso ◽  
Fabricio Campos Kuroda ◽  
José Roberto Passarini Junior ◽  
Juan Guzman Quispe Cabanillas ◽  
Fernanda Aparecida Sampaio Mendonça ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Collagen Fibre ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Acupuncture Points ◽  
Type Iii Collagen ◽  
Fibroblast Proliferation ◽  
Acupuncture And Moxibustion ◽  
Female Wistar Rats

Objective: To investigate the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on the repair of excisional skin injuries on the back of adult female Wistar rats. Methods: 90 animals were divided into three groups: C, control; A, acupuncture treatment (needled at traditional acupuncture points BL13, BL17 and ST36); M, moxibustion treatment (overlying same traditional acupuncture points). They were euthanased on days 7, 14 and 21 after injury for removal and preparation of tissue for analysis. Results: The treated groups (A and M) showed no changes regarding the structural analysis relative to the control (C) group. The total number of fibroblast cells in the A and M groups were significantly higher than those in the C group on days 14 and 21. The number of granulocytes was significantly less in the A and M groups compared with the C group on days 14 and 21. The total number of newly formed vessels increased on day 21 and was significantly higher in the A and M groups. The amount of birefringent collagen fibre detected on day 21 was significantly higher in the C group. The amount of glycosaminoglycan and hydroxyproline was similar between the groups. The amount of collagen I did not differ between the groups in any period, despite the increased amount detected over time. The amount of type III collagen did not differ between the groups but the detected amount decreased over the course of the experiment. The amount of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the A and M rats was similar but inferior to C rats across all experimental periods. Conclusions: Acupuncture and moxibustion stimulated fibroblast proliferation and neoangiogenesis, and extended the period of collagen fibre reorganisation in the repair of excisional injuries in adult female rats.

scholarly journals Constitutive modelling of arteries considering fibre recruitment and three-dimensional fibre distribution

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (105) ◽  
pp. 20150111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Weisbecker ◽  
Michael J. Unterberger ◽  
Gerhard A. Holzapfel
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Matrix Material ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Collagen Fibre ◽  
Multiscale Model ◽  
Orientation Distribution ◽  
Constitutive Modelling ◽  
Collagen Fibres ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The Matrix

Structurally motivated material models may provide increased insights into the underlying mechanics and physics of arteries under physiological loading conditions. We propose a multiscale model for arterial tissue capturing three different scales (i) a single collagen fibre; (ii) bundle of collagen fibres; and (iii) collagen network within the tissue. The waviness of collagen fibres is introduced by a probability density function for the recruitment stretch at which the fibre starts to bear load. The three-dimensional distribution of the collagen fibres is described by an orientation distribution function using the bivariate von Mises distribution, and fitted to experimental data. The strain energy for the tissue is decomposed additively into a part related to the matrix material and a part for the collagen fibres. Volume fractions account for the matrix/fibre constituents. The proposed model only uses two parameters namely a shear modulus of the matrix material and a (stiffness) parameter related to a single collagen fibre. A fit of the multiscale model to representative experimental data obtained from the individual layers of a human thoracic aorta shows that the proposed model is able to adequately capture the nonlinear and anisotropic behaviour of the aortic layers.

The Effects of So-Called ‘Forbidden Acupuncture Points’ on Pregnancy Outcome in Wistar Rats

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Vilella Guerreiro da Silva ◽  
Mary Uchiyama Nakamura ◽  
José Antônio Cordeiro ◽  
João Bosco Guerreiro da Silva ◽  
Gloria E.F. Mendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnancy Outcome ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Acupuncture Points

scholarly journals The mechanical properties of fin whale arteries are explained by novel connective tissue designs.

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (4) ◽  
pp. 985-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Gosline ◽  
R E Shadwick
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Elastic Modulus ◽  
Aortic Arch ◽  
Thoracic Aorta ◽  
Collagen Fibre ◽  
External Diameter ◽  
Collagen Fibres ◽  
Descending Aorta ◽  
Fin Whale ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals

The aortic arch and the descending aorta in the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) are structurally and mechanically very different from comparable vessels in other mammals. Although the external diameter of the whale's descending thoracic aorta (approximately 12 cm) is similar to that predicted by scaling relationships for terrestrial mammals, the wall thickness:diameter ratio in the whale (0.015) is much smaller than the characteristic value for other mammals (0.05). In addition, the elastic modulus of the thoracic aorta (12 MPa at 13 kPa blood pressure) is about 30 times higher than in other mammals. In contrast, the whale's aortic arch has a wall thickness/diameter ratio (0.055) and an elastic modulus (0.4 MPa) that are essentially identical to those for other mammals. However, the aortic arch is unusual in that it can be deformed biaxially to very large strains without entering a region of high stiffness caused by the recruitment of fully extended collagen fibres. Chemical composition studies indicate that the elastin:collagen ratio is high in the aortic arch (approximately 2:1) and that this ratio falls in the thoracic (approximately 1:2) and abdominal (approximately 1:3) aortas, but the magnitude of the change in composition does not account for the dramatic difference in mechanical properties. This suggests that there are differences in the elastin and collagen fibre architecture of these vessels. The descending aorta contains dense bands of tendon-like, wavy collagen fibres that run in the plane of the arterial wall, forming a fibre-lattice that runs in parallel to the elastin lamellae and reinforces the wall, making it very stiff. The aortic arch contains a very different collagen fibre-lattice in which fibres appear to have a component of orientation that runs through the thickness of the artery wall. This suggests that the collagen fibres may be arranged in series with elastin-containing elements, a difference in tissue architecture that could account for both the lower stiffness and the extreme extensibility of the whale's aortic arch. Thus, both the structure and the mechanical behaviour of the lamellar units in the aortic arch and aorta of the whale have presumably been modified to produce the unusual mechanical and haemodynamic properties of the whale circulation.

scholarly journals Development of a Collagen Fibre Remodelling Rupture Risk Metric for Potentially Vulnerable Carotid Artery Atherosclerotic Plaques

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milad Ghasemi ◽  
Robert D. Johnston ◽  
Caitríona Lally
Keyword(s):  
Carotid Artery ◽  
Atherosclerotic Plaque ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Plaque Rupture ◽  
Collagen Fibre ◽  
Local Stress ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Collagen Fibres ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Risk Metric

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture in carotid arteries can lead to stroke which is one of the leading causes of death or disability worldwide. The accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque in an artery changes the mechanical properties of the vessel. Whilst healthy arteries can continuously adapt to mechanical loads by remodelling their internal structure, particularly the load-bearing collagen fibres, diseased vessels may have limited remodelling capabilities. In this study, a local stress modulated remodelling algorithm is proposed to explore the mechanical response of arterial tissue to the remodelling of collagen fibres. This stress driven remodelling algorithm is used to predict the optimum distribution of fibres in healthy and diseased human carotid bifurcations obtained using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In the models, healthy geometries were segmented into two layers: media and adventitia and diseased into four components: adventitia, media, plaque atheroma and lipid pool (when present in the MRI images). A novel meshing technique for hexahedral meshing of these geometries is also demonstrated. Using the remodelling algorithm, the optimum fibre patterns in various patient specific plaques are identified and the role that deviations from these fibre configurations in plaque vulnerability is shown. This study provides critical insights into the collagen fibre patterns required in carotid artery and plaque tissue to maintain plaque stability.

Could Acupuncture at the So-Called Forbidden Points be Harmful to the Health of Pregnant Wistar Rats?

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Vilella Guerreiro da Silva ◽  
Mary Uchiyama Nakamura ◽  
João Bosco Guerreiro da Silva ◽  
José Antonio Cordeiro ◽  
Glória Elisa Mendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Wistar Rat ◽  
Acupuncture Points ◽  
Histopathological Analysis ◽  
Single Experiment ◽  
Histological Changes ◽  
Primary Endpoints ◽  
Liver And Kidney ◽  
Point Groups ◽  
Peripheral Point

Aim This study is the second report from a single experiment planned to determine if acupuncture at LI4 and SP6, or at the sacral points, could produce any harm in the pregnancy outcome of Wistar rats, as has been hypothesised in traditional knowledge. Here, we observe if these points can be harmful to the health of pregnant Wistar rats. Methods A total of 48 pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: total control, where rats were left in cages without manipulation; anesthetised control, where rats were manipulated and anesthetised but did not receive electroacupuncture; and peripheral point and sacral point groups, where rats were anesthetised and received 6 sessions of electroacupuncture at 4 acupuncture points: LI4 and SP6, and BL27 and BL28, respectively. In the 19th day of pregnancy the rats were killed and examined. The primary endpoints were levels of glucose, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) creatinine and histological changes of liver and kidney. Results There were no differences between the levels of biochemical parameters. No differences were also seen regarding the histopathological analysis. Conclusions We found no evidence that acupuncture at the LI4, SP6 and sacral points could be harmful to the Wistar rat dams.

scholarly journals Manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture and usual care for prophylaxis of episodic migraine without aura: multicentre, randomised clinical trial

BMJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. m697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabei Xu ◽  
Lingling Yu ◽  
Xiang Luo ◽  
Minghuan Wang ◽  
Guohua Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Usual Care ◽  
Migraine Without Aura ◽  
Episodic Migraine ◽  
Sham Acupuncture ◽  
Controlled Clinical Trial ◽  
Acupuncture Points ◽  
Manual Acupuncture ◽  
Prophylactic Drugs ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Objective To assess the efficacy of manual acupuncture as prophylactic treatment for acupuncture naive patients with episodic migraine without aura. Design Multicentre, randomised, controlled clinical trial with blinded participants, outcome assessment, and statistician. Setting Seven hospitals in China, 5 June 2016 to 15 November 2018. Participants 150 acupuncture naive patients with episodic migraine without aura. Interventions 20 sessions of manual acupuncture at true acupuncture points plus usual care, 20 sessions of non-penetrating sham acupuncture at heterosegmental non-acupuncture points plus usual care, or usual care alone over 8 weeks. Main outcome measures Change in migraine days and migraine attacks per four weeks during weeks 1-20 after randomisation compared with baseline (four weeks before randomisation). Results Among 150 randomised patients (mean age 36.5 (SD 11.4) years; 123 (82%) women), 147 were included in the full analysis set. Compared with sham acupuncture, manual acupuncture resulted in a significantly greater reduction in migraine days at weeks 13 to 20 and a significantly greater reduction in migraine attacks at weeks 17 to 20. The reduction in mean number of migraine days was 3.5 (SD 2.5) for manual versus 2.4 (3.4) for sham (adjusted difference −1.4, 95% confidence interval −2.4 to −0.3; P=0.005) at weeks 13 to 16 and 3.9 (3.0) for manual versus 2.2 (3.2) for sham (adjusted difference −2.1, −2.9 to −1.2; P<0.001) at weeks 17 to 20. At weeks 17 to 20, the reduction in mean number of attacks was 2.3 (1.7) for manual versus 1.6 (2.5) for sham (adjusted difference −1.0, −1.5 to −0.5; P<0.001). No severe adverse events were reported. No significant difference was seen in the proportion of patients perceiving needle penetration between manual acupuncture and sham acupuncture (79% v 75%; P=0.891). Conclusions Twenty sessions of manual acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture and usual care for the prophylaxis of episodic migraine without aura. These results support the use of manual acupuncture in patients who are reluctant to use prophylactic drugs or when prophylactic drugs are ineffective, and it should be considered in future guidelines. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02765581 .

scholarly journals Manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture and usual care for the prevention of primary dysmenorrhea (PD): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingling Yu ◽  
Shiqin Liu ◽  
Cuihong Zheng ◽  
Wenhua Liu ◽  
Hua Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Usual Care ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Sham Acupuncture ◽  
Acupuncture Points ◽  
Primary Dysmenorrhea ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Manual Acupuncture ◽  
Menstrual Cycles ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
High Quality Evidence

Abstract Background Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a leading cause of dysmenorrhea among adolescent girls. Manual acupuncture may be considered as an effective treatment for PD, but high-quality evidence remains limited. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for the prevention of PD as compared with sham acupuncture and usual care. Methods/design This is a three-arm, randomized, controlled clinical trial in which the patients, assessors, and statisticians will be blinded. A total of 300 acupuncture-naive patients who were diagnosed as PD will be randomly allocated to the verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or usual care groups in a 2:2:1 ratio. Patients in the verum acupuncture group will receive manual acupuncture at specific acupuncture points with penetrating needling, while those in the sham acupuncture group will receive non-penetrating needling at non-acupuncture points. They will be given five sessions over a menstrual cycle for 3 menstrual cycles. Patients in the usual care group will receive health education and informed to receive manual acupuncture for free after waiting for 7 menstrual cycles. The primary outcome will be the change from baseline in the Cox Menstrual Symptom Scale Score (CMSS). The secondary outcomes will be the changes in Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale (MASS), visual analog scale (VAS), Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire 2 (SF-MPQ-2), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI- II), Acupuncture Expectancy Scale (AES), 60-item NEO Personality Inventory-Short Form (NEO-FFI), and acute medication intake. The adverse events will be recorded at every visit. The analyses will be performed base on a full analysis set (FAS) and a per-protocol set (PPS). Discussion This study may provide high-quality evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of manual acupuncture for PD. In addition, the results of this study will help to identify the efficacy of acupuncture due to the specific effects of acupuncture or placebo effects of acupuncture ritual. Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov NCT02783534. Registered on 26 May 2016

Electroacupuncture versus manual acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled pilot trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian-Qi Wang ◽  
Yong-Ting Li ◽  
Li-Qiong Wang ◽  
Guang-Xia Shi ◽  
Jian-Feng Tu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knee Osteoarthritis ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Controlled Clinical Trial ◽  
Acupuncture Points ◽  
Womac Pain ◽  
Manual Acupuncture ◽  
Current Output ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
And Function

Objective: We aimed to explore the feasibility of evaluating the comparative effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) relative to manual acupuncture (MA) for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in Beijing from September 2017 to January 2018. A total of 60 participants with KOA were randomly allocated to either EA ( n = 30) or MA ( n = 30) groups. Participants in the EA group were treated with EA at six to seven local traditional acupuncture points or ah shi points, and two to three distal points. Participants in the MA group had the same schedule as the EA group except that the electrical apparatus featured a working power indicator without actual current output, constituting a sham EA procedure, in order to blind participants. Both groups received 24 sessions over 8 weeks. The primary outcome was response rate, defined as a change of ⩾50% from baseline in the total scores of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) after 8 weeks. Secondary outcomes included pain, stiffness, function, quality of life, and acupuncture-related adverse events (AEs) at 4 and 8 weeks. Results: Of 60 participants randomized, 53 (88%) completed the study. Response rates were 43% for the EA group and 30% for the MA group by the intention-to-treat analysis. Although significant differences were observed in WOMAC pain, stiffness, and function scores within both groups, between-group differences at 8 weeks did not reach statistical significance (odds ratio = 1.75 (95% confidence interval = 0.593–5.162)). Rates of AEs were low and similarly distributed between groups. Conclusion: Both EA and MA interventions in KOA were feasible and appeared safe. Whether or not EA may have a stronger impact on pain and function requires further evaluation through larger, adequately powered, randomized controlled trials. Trial registration number: NCT03274713.

scholarly journals Hyperelastic modelling of arterial layers with distributed collagen fibre orientations

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 15-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Christian Gasser ◽  
Ray W Ogden ◽  
Gerhard A Holzapfel
Keyword(s):  
Structural Model ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Constitutive Relations ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Collagen Fibre ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Biological Tissues ◽  
Free Energy Function ◽  
Collagen Fibres ◽  
Small Pitch

Constitutive relations are fundamental to the solution of problems in continuum mechanics, and are required in the study of, for example, mechanically dominated clinical interventions involving soft biological tissues. Structural continuum constitutive models of arterial layers integrate information about the tissue morphology and therefore allow investigation of the interrelation between structure and function in response to mechanical loading. Collagen fibres are key ingredients in the structure of arteries. In the media (the middle layer of the artery wall) they are arranged in two helically distributed families with a small pitch and very little dispersion in their orientation (i.e. they are aligned quite close to the circumferential direction). By contrast, in the adventitial and intimal layers, the orientation of the collagen fibres is dispersed, as shown by polarized light microscopy of stained arterial tissue. As a result, continuum models that do not account for the dispersion are not able to capture accurately the stress–strain response of these layers. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to develop a structural continuum framework that is able to represent the dispersion of the collagen fibre orientation. This then allows the development of a new hyperelastic free-energy function that is particularly suited for representing the anisotropic elastic properties of adventitial and intimal layers of arterial walls, and is a generalization of the fibre-reinforced structural model introduced by Holzapfel & Gasser (Holzapfel & Gasser 2001 Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng . 190 , 4379–4403) and Holzapfel et al . (Holzapfel et al . 2000 J. Elast . 61 , 1–48). The model incorporates an additional scalar structure parameter that characterizes the dispersed collagen orientation. An efficient finite element implementation of the model is then presented and numerical examples show that the dispersion of the orientation of collagen fibres in the adventitia of human iliac arteries has a significant effect on their mechanical response.

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