Effect of Acupuncture to Endothelial Dysfunction Induced by Ischemia-reperfusion Injury

Summary

Some studies suggest that acupuncture improve flow mediated dilation (FMD) that represents endothelial function, but no study has investigated whether acupuncture protects against ischemia and reperfusion (IR)-induced endothelial dysfunction in humans.

This is a prospective crossover study clinical trial. In the first crossover study, 20 healthy nonsmoking volunteers (25 to 40 years old) will be randomly assigned to acupuncture or control. Endothelium-dependent, FMD of the brachial artery will be measured before and after IR (15 minutes of ischemia at the level of the proximal upper arm followed by 15 minutes of reperfusion). Acupuncture will be performed from 10 minute after ischemia till the end time of reperfusion for 20 minutes. In the second single arm study, 16 volunteers are administered oral 5mg glibenclamide two hours before IR injury (n=8) or selective cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib 200mg twice a day for 5 days to know what mechanism is responsible for acupuncture effect on IR injury. FMD measurements and acupuncture intervention during IR injury are same as above mentioned.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

DEVICE

Active acupuncture

Active acupuncture treatment group receive electroacupuncture (EA). For EA treatment, unilateral acupuncture meridian point Pericardium5 (PC5), Pericardium6 (PC6), Stomach36 (ST36), and Stomach37 (ST37) are chosen. Disposable, sterile needles and low frequency electrical stimulator (ES-160, ITO, Japan) are used. Each needle is inserted to the depth of 2cm with a 90 degree angle. Thereafter, needles are connected with the pole and electrical stimulation is applied with 2 Hertz continuous wave current. After FMD measurement, a pneumatic cuff placed above the upper arms is inflated to 200 mmHg for 15 minutes. The cuff is then deflated, and 15 minutes of reperfusion is allowed before FMD measurement again. Acupuncture is performed from after ten minutes of ischemia till end time of reperfusion

DEVICE

Sham acupuncture

For sham intervention, nonacupuncture points are used. Electrical acupuncture is connected but electrical stimulation is not given to sham acupuncture group. Volunteers undergo FMD measurement and acupuncture like above methods.

DRUG

Euglucon 5mg

8 healthy volunteers are administered 5 mg of glibenclamide (Euglucon, Roche Pharma) 3 hour before FMD measurement. This dosage has previously been shown to be able to completely inhibit forearm KATP channels. With the glibenclamide administration, a 10% dextrose infusion is started and titrated to maintain blood sugar levels between 80 and 120 mg/dL throughout the study period. 3 hours after glibenclamide administration, the subjects undergo FMD measurement before and after ischemia reperfusion injury. During ischemia reperfusion period, active acupuncture treatment is performed for 20 minutes like above method.

DRUG

Celebrex 200mg

8 healthy volunteers are administered celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, 200 mg twice daily for 5 days. Last dose of celecoxib is administered at morning. Volunteers undergo FMD measurements before and after ischemia reperfusion injury in that morning of last dose of celecoxib. During ischemia reperfusion period, active acupuncture treatment is performed for 20 minutes like above method

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Kyunghee University Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Weon Kim · Kyunghee University Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

25 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-05-31

Primary Completion

2014-10-31

Completion

2014-12-31

Countries

• South Korea

Study Locations