Browsing by Author "Zhang, Jingzhi"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Acupuncture improves the symptoms, intestinal microbiota, and inflammation of patients with mild to moderate Crohn's disease: A randomized controlled trial
    (Elsevier, 2022-02-12) Bao, Chunhui; Wu, Luyi; Wang, Di; Chen, Liming; Jin, Xiaoming; Shi, Yin; Li, Guona; Zhang, Jingzhi; Zeng, Xiaoqing; Chen, Jianhua; Liu, Huirong; Wu, Huangan; Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, School of Medicine
    Background: The efficacy and mechanisms of acupuncture for Crohn's disease (CD) are not well understood. We investigated its effects on symptoms, intestinal microbiota, and circulating inflammatory markers in CD patients. Methods: This 48-week, randomized, sham controlled, parallel-group clinical trial was performed at a tertiary outpatient clinic in China. From April 2015 to November 2019, 66 patients (mean age 40·4, 62·1% were male, all were Han Chinese) with mild to moderate active CD and unresponsive to drug treatment were enrolled and randomly assigned equally to an acupuncture group or a sham group. The treatment group received 3 sessions of acupuncture plus moxibustion per week for 12 weeks and a follow-up of 36 weeks. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02559037. Findings: At week 12, the clinical remission rate (the primary outcome) and clinical response rate of acupuncture group were significantly higher than that of sham group, with a difference of 42·4% (95% CI: 20·1%-64·0%) and 45·5% (95% CI: 24·0%-66·9%), respectively, both of which maintained at week 48. The acupuncture group had significantly lower CD activity index and C-reactive protein level at week 12, which maintained at 36-week follow-up. The CD endoscopic index of severity, histopathological score, and recurrence rate at week 48 were significantly lower in acupuncture group. The number of operational taxonomic unit of intestinal microbiota and relative abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia faecis were increased. Plasma diamine oxidase, lipopolysaccharide, and Th1/Th17 related cytokines were decreased in 12-week after acupuncture. Interpretation: Acupuncture was effective in inducing and maintaining remission in patients with active CD, which was associated with increased abundance of intestinal anti-inflammatory bacteria, enhanced intestinal barrier, and regulation of circulating Th1/Th17-related cytokines.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Different brain responses to electro-acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in patients with Crohn's disease
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2016-11-18) Bao, Chunhui; Liu, Peng; Liu, Huirong; Jin, Xiaoming; Calhoun, Vince D.; Wu, Luyi; Shi, Yin; Zhang, Jianye; Zeng, Xiaoqing; Ma, Lili; Qin, Wei; Zhang, Jingzhi; Liu, Xiaoming; Tian, Jie; Wu, Huangan; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine
    This study aimed to investigate changes in resting state brain activity in remissive Crohn's Disease (CD) patients after electro-acupuncture or moxibustion treatment. Fifty-two CD patients and 36 healthy subjects were enrolled, and 36 patients were equally and randomly assigned to receive either electro-acupuncture or moxibustion treatment for twelve weeks. We used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) levels, and Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) scores to evaluate disease severity and quality of life. The results show that (i) The ReHo levels in CD patients were significantly increased in cortical but decreased in subcortical areas, and the coupling between them was declined. (ii) Both treatments decreased CDAI, increased IBDQ scores, and normalized the ReHo values of the cortical and subcortical regions. (iii) ReHo changes in multiple cortical regions were significantly correlated with CDAI score decreases. ReHo changes in several subcortical regions in the electro-acupuncture group, and those of several cortical regions in the moxibustion group, were correlated with reduced CDAI. These findings suggest that both treatments improved cortex-subcortical coupling in remissive CD patients, but electro-acupuncture regulated homeostatic afferent processing network, while moxibustion mainly regulated the default mode network of the brain.