Objective：To observe the effect of acupuncture in regulating ubiquitin-proteasome pathway （UPP）,and discuss the action of acupuncture in intervening heroin-induced brain damage.Methods：Thirty male Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were divided into a control group,a model group and an acupuncture group by using the random number table.Rats in the model and acupuncture groups received intramuscular heroin injection for successive 8 d at a progressively increased dose.Afterwards,the injection was suspended for 5 d for withdrawal.The heroin relapse rat model was established by repeating the drug addiction and withdrawal process for 3 times.The control group followed the step of the model establishment,but was given intramuscular injection of normal saline at the stage of addiction and no intervention at the stage of withdrawal;the model group was given intramuscular heroin injection at a progressively increased dose at the addiction stage and no intervention at the withdrawal stage;the acupuncture group was dealt in the same way as the model group at the addiction stage,but received acupuncture at Baihui （GV 20） and Dazhui （GV 14） at the withdrawal stage,with the needles retained for 30 min each time,1 session a day,for successive 5 d.On the 39th day,brain tissues were extracted from the hippocampus and ventral tegmental area （VTA） of the three groups of rats.The apoptosis of brain nerve cells was detected by using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick and labeling （TUNEL）.The mRNA and protein expressions of ubiquitin （Ub）,ubiquitin protein ligase （E3） and 26S were examined by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR）.Results：Compared with the model group,rat＇s hippocampus and VTA in the acupuncture group showed significantly fewer cells positively stained by TUNEL staining （P〈0.01）,and its mRNA and protein expressions of Ub,E3,26S were significantly lower （P〈0.01）.Conclusion：Reducing nerve cell apoptosis and reg
Objective：To observe the effect of reward alteration following acupuncture for morphine withdrawal rats on the behavior and neuronal discharges in the medial prefrontal cortex （mPFC）. Methods：The Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly allocated into a model group, a confinement group, an electroacupuncture （EA） group, and a control group. Rats with morphine addiction were made by intraperitoneal injection of naloxone （same dose injection of saline for rats in the control group）, followed by a 2-week morphine withdrawal. Acupuncture and confinement were completed during the morphine withdrawal period. Upon withdrawal, the rats received conditioned place preference （CPP） training and open field test. The multi-channel neural signal processor was used in the electrophysiological experiment to measure the neuronal discharges in different subareas of prefrontal cortex in CPP box and aversion box. Results：Rats in the model group and the confinement group spent longer period of time in CPP box than those in the EA group and the control group （allP〈0.01）; there was no statistically significant difference between the EA group and the control group. The total distances of movement by rats in the model group and the confinement group were longer than those in the EA group and the control group （allP〈0.01）. The mPFC neuronal discharge frequencies were compared between morphine preference box and aversion box. The mPFC neuronal discharge frequencies in the model group and the confinement group were higher than those in the EA group and the control group （allP〈0.05）; there was no statistically significant difference between the EA group and the control group. Conclusion：Acupuncture can effectively interfere with the reward alteration following morphine withdrawal, possibly because of its involvement with the mPFC neuronal discharges.
Objective： To assess the efficacy of acupuncture plus Methadone in treating heroin withdrawal syndrome. Methods： According to the requirements of evidence-based medicine, the inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria and retrieval strategy were set for original documents. Randomized controlled trials（RCTs） involving acupuncture plus Methadone in treating heroin withdrawal syndrome were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database（CNKI）,Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database（Wanfang）, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database（CBM）, Chongqing VIP Database（CQVIP）, PubM ed, Cochrane Library and EMBASE. According to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, each included trial was assessed strictly including risk of bias and quality evaluation. Meta-analysis and descriptive-analysis were conducted using the RevM an 5.3 software. Results： A total of 8 trials involving 931 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that there was no statistical significance [RR=1.05; 95%CI（0.99, 1.11）; P=0.11] in comparing total effective rate between the acupuncture plus Methadone and Methadone alone; the cure rate of acupuncture plus Methadone was higher than that of Methadone alone[RR=1.45; 95%CI（1.19, 1.78）; P=0.0003]; the relapse rate of the acupuncture plus Methadone was lower [RR=0.691;95%CI（0.60, 0.80）; P〈0.00001]. On the basis of these results, the method recommended by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation（GRADE） was taken to evaluate the quality of the evidence. It showed that the level of the evidence was low and it was weakly recommended. Conclusion： According to the included trials, acupuncture plus Methadone in treating heroin withdrawal syndrome is more effective and better than Methadone alone, but it still needs more high-quality, large sample, and polycentric researches to confirm it.
