Key result
Repeated application of electroacupuncture improved diet-induced insulin resistance in rats and significantly increased phosphorylated AMPKα in skeletal muscle (p<0.05).
Why the study?
Does repeated application of low-frequency electroacupuncture improve high-fructose diet-induced insulin resistance in rats?
Does repeated application of low-frequency electroacupuncture improve high-fructose diet-induced insulin resistance in rats?
Repeated low-frequency electroacupuncture improves diet-induced insulin resistance in a rat model, likely through activation of AMPK signaling in skeletal muscle.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Hypothesis-generating for electroacupuncture in insulin resistance; extends rat AMPK data but leaves open human translation and should not change practice.
BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance is frequently present in obesity and during the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on high-fructose diet (HFD)-induced insulin resistance. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were fed HFD for 4 weeks and developed insulin resistance. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by clamp. The number of animals was seven, eight and seven in the control, HFD and HFD+EA groups, respectively. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle were measured by Western blotting analysis (n=7 in each group). EA stimulation was carried out 12 times over 4 weeks at an intensity of 1-3 mA and a frequency of 2/15 Hz in a conscious state without restraint. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in mean body weight and fasting blood glucose concentration between groups at the end of the experiment. The mean glucose infusion rate during the clamp was significantly lower in the HFD group than in controls (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in expression of GLUT4 in skeletal muscle in the control and each group. Phosphorylated AMPKα (Thr172) in skeletal muscle showed a significant increase immediately after the final EA stimulation when compared with the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Repeated application of EA is capable of improving diet-induced insulin resistance, probably through activation of AMPK signalling pathways in skeletal muscle. These results suggest that repeated application of EA may have beneficial effects on diet-induced insulin resistance.
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Tominaga et al. (2011) studied High-fructose diet-induced insulin resistance (n=22). Electroacupuncture vs. High-fructose diet without electroacupuncture and normal control was evaluated on Insulin sensitivity assessed by clamp (mean glucose infusion rate) and AMPK/GLUT4 expression (p=<0.05). Repeated application of electroacupuncture improved diet-induced insulin resistance in rats and significantly increased phosphorylated AMPKα in skeletal muscle (p<0.05).
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