Key result
ST36 acupuncture increases superior mesenteric artery blood flow volume by ~14% alongside augmented vagal activity.
Why the study?
Does acupuncture stimulation at ST36 or LR3 increase superior mesenteric artery blood flow volume and alter autonomic nerve activity in healthy volunteers?
RCT (n=26)
Randomly divided into 3 groups in a crossover fashion
No
Does acupuncture stimulation at ST36 or LR3 increase superior mesenteric artery blood flow volume and alter autonomic nerve activity in healthy volunteers?
p-value: p=0.007
Acupuncture stimulation at ST36 enhances superior mesenteric artery blood flow via parasympathetic (vagus nerve) activation, providing a physiologic mechanism for its effects on gastrointestinal function.
May support ST36 as a vagal adjunct for mesenteric perfusion in select patients; extends mechanistic RCT data but requires disease-specific trials.
Objective. We investigated the relationship between superior mesenteric artery blood flow volume (SMA BFV) and autonomic nerve activity in acupuncture stimulation of lower limb points through heart rate variability (HRV) evaluations. Methods. Twenty-six healthy volunteers underwent crossover applications of bilateral manual acupuncture stimulation at ST36 or LR3 or no stimulation. Heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac index, systemic vascular resistance index, SMA BFV, and HRV at rest and 30 min after the intervention were analyzed. Results. SMA BFV showed a significant increase after ST36 stimulation (0% to 14.1% ± 23.4%, P = 0.007); very low frequency (VLF), high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF), and LF/HF were significantly greater than those at rest (0% to 479.4% ± 1185.6%, P = 0.045; 0% to 78.9% ± 197.6%, P = 0.048; 0% to 123.9% ± 217.1%, P = 0.006; 0% to 71.5% ± 171.1%, P = 0.039). Changes in HF and LF also differed significantly from those resulting from LR3 stimulation (HF: 78.9% ± 197.6% versus -18.2% ± 35.8%, P = 0.015; LF: 123.9% ± 217.1% versus 10.6% ± 70.6%, P = 0.013). Conclusion. Increased vagus nerve activity after ST36 stimulation resulted in increased SMA BFV. This partly explains the mechanism of acupuncture-induced BFV changes.
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Kaneko et al. (2013) conducted an RCT in Healthy volunteers (n=26). Acupuncture stimulation at ST36 vs. LR3 acupuncture stimulation and no stimulation was evaluated on Superior mesenteric artery blood flow volume (SMA BFV) change from baseline (p=0.007). Acupuncture stimulation at ST36 significantly increased superior mesenteric artery blood flow volume by 14.1% (p=0.007) and augmented vagus nerve activity compared to baseline.
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