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Background: Acupuncture and moxibustion has been widely applied to hyperlipidemia treatment in clinical practice in China, serving as an alternative treatment to statins. Warm-needling acupuncture and medicinal cake-separated moxibustion have been separately reported with potential therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia treatment in several studies but with limitations in study methodology. Combining these two modalities may provide a more advantageous strategy in treating hyperlipidemia. Therefore, a strict evaluation through well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCT) is necessary to determine their efficacy and safety on hyperlipidemia.Methods: The study a multicenter, open-label, randomized, stratified, active-controlled, noninferiority trial with two parallel groups. Subjects with hyperlipidemia will be stratified into different groups by risk levels of heart diseases. They then will be instructed to the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) diet. Those who have not reached the target lipid level will be randomly assigned to the treatments of either acupuncture and moxibustion or simvastatin with a 1:1 allocation. One hundred and thirty subjects are aimed to be recruited. The duration of intervention for this study will be 12 weeks, followed by another 4 weeks for post-treatment assessment. The primary outcome is percentage change from baseline to the end of the study in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Other indicators in lipid change, safety and adherence will also be assessed secondarily. The repeated measures, linear mixed-effects model will be applied to the analysis.Discussion: Acupuncture and moxibustion could be a potentially effective treatment alternative for hyperlipidemia. A study with careful design is developed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined acupuncture and moxibustion, by integrating the traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) regimens with the standardized Western medicine appraisal approach.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02269046 . Registered on 26 September 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migraine is a common neurological disease with a high prevalence and unsatisfactory treatment options. The specific pathophysiological mechanisms of migraine remain unclear, which restricts the development of effective treatments for this prevalent disorder. The aims of this study were to 1) compare the spontaneous brain activity differences between Migraine without Aura (MwoA) patients and healthy controls (HCs), using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) calculation method, and 2) explore how an effective treatment (verum acupuncture) could modulate the ALFF of MwoA patients. One hundred MwoA patients and forty-six matched HCs were recruited. Patients were randomized to four weeks' verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waiting list groups. Patients had resting state BOLD-fMRI scan before and after treatment, while HCs only had resting state BOLD-fMRI scan at baseline. Headache intensity, headache frequency, self-rating anxiety and self-rating depression were used for clinical efficacy evaluation. Compared with HCs, MwoA patients showed increased ALFF in posterior insula and putamen/caudate, and reduced ALFF in rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM)/trigeminocervical complex (TCC). After longitudinal verum acupuncture treatment, the decreased ALFF of the RVM/TCC was normalized in migraine patients. Verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture have different modulation effects on ALFF of RVM/TCC in migraine patients. Our results suggest that impairment of the homeostasis of the trigeminovascular nociceptive pathway is involved in the neural pathophysiology of migraines. Effective treatments, such as verum acupuncture, could help to restore this imbalance.

In order to improve the teaching quality of Acupuncture - Moxibustion Medicine , the author valued the students' ability as guidance and purpose, analyzed the characteristics of the curriculum design and the selection of teaching materials, and proposed 3 teaching modules consisted of theory, practical training and application of acupuncture- moxibustion. Hereafter, it was constantly summarized and improved to realize the goal of curriculum knowledge, ability and quality. The reform method of the curriculum design, teaching content and method of Acupuncture - Moxibustion Medicine in traditional Chinese medicine was preliminarily explored.

Objective: To investigate the effect difference between acupuncture and moxibustion for functional dyspepsia (FD)., Methods: Sixty patients with FD were randomized into an acupuncture group (29 cases with 1 rejecting) and a moxibustion group (27 cases with 3 dropping). The corresponding manipulations for 4 courses were applied at Zhongwan (CV 12) and Zusanli (ST 36) in the two groups, continuous 5 times as 1 course with 2 days between two courses, once a day and total 20 times. Leed's dyspepsia questionnaire (LDQ) and Nepean dyspepsia index (NDI) were tested before and after treatment, and safety was evaluated., Results: After treatment, the total LDQ scores decreased in the two groups (both P <0.01), with statistical different value between the two groups ( P <0.05). Upper abdominal pain, early satiety, epigastric burning in the acupuncture group were improved more obviously compared with those in the moxibustion group (all P <0.01). The NDI scores in the two groups increased after treatment (both P <0.01), without statistical different value before and after treatment ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion are effective for FD and acupuncture shows superiority.

Based on the understanding of TCM and western medicine on diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), the relationship between DPN pathogenesis and blood stasis of TCM is discussed from the perspective of modern medicine. It is indicated blood stasis is the key pathogenesis to DPN, and a two-step acupuncture treatment of DPN from the theory of blood stasis is proposed. The first step is to analyze the pathogenesis of blood stasis, which could block the progress of the disease and diminish the symptoms. The second step is to apply acupuncture for pathological result of blood stasis by following the principle of eliminating exogenous pathogen , as a result, the purpose of treating both symptoms and root cause is achieved.

Aims This study aims to investigate the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) of the right frontoparietal network (rFPN) between migraineurs and healthy controls (HCs) in order to determine how the rFPN rs-fc can be modulated by effective treatment. Methods One hundred patients and 46 matched HCs were recruited. Migraineurs were randomized to verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waiting list groups. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected before and after longitudinal treatments. Independent component analysis was applied in the data analysis. Results We found that migraineurs showed decreased rs-fc between the rFPN and bilateral precuneus compared with HCs. After treatments (real and sham), rFPN rs-fc with the precuneus was significantly reduced. This reduction was associated with headache intensity relief. In order to explore the role of the precuneus in acupuncture modulation, we performed a seed-based rs-fc analysis using the precuneus as a seed and found that the precuneus rs-fc with the bilateral rostral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was significantly enhanced after treatment. Conclusion Our results suggest that migraineurs are associated with abnormal rFPN rs-fc. An effective treatment, such as acupuncture, may relieve symptoms by strengthening the cognitive adaptation/coping process. Elucidation of the adaptation/coping mechanisms may open up a new window for migraine management.

The "flipped classroom" teaching model practiced in the teaching of Theories of Different Schools of Acupuncture and Moxibustion curriculum was introduced. Firstly, the roles and responsibilities of teachers were clarified, indicating teachers provided examples and lectures, and a comprehensive assessment system was established. Secondly, the "flipped classroom" teaching model was split into online learning, classroom learning and offline learning. Online learning aimed at forming a study report by a wide search of relevant information, which was submitted to teachers for review and assessment. Classroom learning was designed to communicate study ideas among students and teachers. Offline learning was intended to revise and improve the study report and refined learning methods. Lastly, the teaching practice effects of "flip classroom" were evaluated by comprehensive rating and questionnaire assessment, which assessed the overall performance of students and overall levels of paper; the learning ability was enhanced, and the interest and motivation of learning were also improved. Therefore, "flipped classroom" teaching mode was suitable for the curriculum of Theories of Different Schools of Acupuncture and Moxibustion , and could be recommended into the teaching practice of related curriculum of acupuncture and tuina.

Objective: To refine and analyze the characteristics and laws of acupoint selection in treatment of hyperlipidemia with acupuncture and moxibustion. By retrieving the main databases of Chinese and English version, the clinical research literature is included on the definite acupoints for hyperlipidemia treated with acupuncture and moxibustion, and the characteristics and laws are analyzed on the acupoint selection for hyperlipidemia treated with acupuncture and moxibustion. It is found out that the special points have been mainly used in treatment of hyperlipidemia. The first five top acupoints of high frequency use include Fenglong (ST 40), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Neiguan (PC 6) and Tianshu (ST 25). Totally 10 meridians are involved in acupoint prescriptions. The meridians of higher frequency use include the Stomach Meridian, the Spleen Meridian, the Conception Vessel, the Bladder Meridian and the Pericardium Meridian. The specific points are mainly from the Stomach Meridian, the Spleen Meridian, the Conception Vessel, the Bladder Meridian and the Pericardium Meridian in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. The acupoint prescription of acupuncture and moxibustion for hyperlipidemia is characterized as determining the treating principle based on the spleen theory, selecting the acupoints along the running courses of the spleen and stomach meridians, combining the nearby acupoints with the distal ones, selecting the acupoints for adjusting the deficiency and excess of zangfu and syndrome differentiation, collaborating the acupoints located in the front and on the back, as well as supplementing the acupoints based on symptoms.