Effect of ear point combined therapy on plasma substance P in patients of no-aura migraine at different stages
Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2009 Mar;29(3):189-91.
[Article in Chinese]
Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of TCM, Jinan 250011, China. yangdianhui@sohu.com
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of ear point combined therapy on no-aura migraine at different stages and the mechanism. METHODS: Thirty cases of no-aura migraine at different stages were treated with ear point combined therapy, including blood-letting at the ear back, injection of auto-blood into Fengchi (GB 20), Yanglingquan (GB 34), and pricking at ear points Nie (AT2), Yidan (CO11), Shenmen (TF4), etc. Their clinical therapeutic effects were evaluated at the end of one therapeutic course, and substance P (SP) contents were detected before and after treatment. RESULTS: The clinical effective rate was 86.7%, and the effective rate was 87.5% at the attack stage and 86.4% at the remission stage with no significant difference between the attack stage and the remission stage (P>0.05); after treatment, SP content had significant change as compared with that before treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01), and there was very significant difference in SP content between the attack stage before treatment and the remission stage (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The ear point combined therapy can relieve pain possibly through decreasing plasma SP content, and the SP con tent possibly is one of main factors inducing migraine attack.
