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Effect of Compound Laser Acupuncture-Moxibustion on Blood Glucose, Fasting Insulin and Blood Lipids Levels in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the effect of compound laser acupuncture-moxibustion on blood glucose, fasting insulin and blood lipids levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats.

Methods

Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, including the normal group, model control group, laser group and sham laser group (n=10 per group). The rats in the normal group were fed with a standard diet. Rats in other groups were fed with a high-sugar and high-fat diet for 4 weeks, then intraperitoneally injected with 1% streptozotocin to induce T2DM model. The laser group was irradiated by 10.6 µm and 650 nm compound laser on bilateral Pishu (BL 20), Shenshu (BL 23) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) for 5 min, 6 times a week for 5 weeks. The sham laser group received the same treatment as the laser group, but without laser output. The model control group and normal group were not treated. Blood glucose levels were measured before and after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks of treatment. The serum levels of fasting insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were analyzed after the last treatment.

Results

The blood glucose levels in the model control group increased during the 5 weeks of treatment compared with the normal group (P<0.05), while those in the laser group were significantly lower than the model control group after weekly treatment (P<0.01 or P<0.05). After 1, 2 and 3 weeks of treatment, the blood glucose levels in the laser group decreased obviously compared with the sham laser group (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Compared with the normal group, the levels of fasting insulin, TC and LDL in the model control group notably increased (P<0.01 or P<0.05), while their levels in the laser group were significantly lower than the model control group after 5 weeks of treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in TG or HDL levels among the 4 groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion

The compound laser acupuncture-moxibustion of 10.6 µm and 650 nm had positive effects on the regulation of hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in T2DM rats, which may be a potential treatment for T2DM, and also provide an alternative to the traditional acupuncture and moxibustion therapy.

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Acknowledgement

We thank our peer reviewers for their insightful comments to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China

    Yuan Li, Zhi-yi Qian, Ke Cheng, Ling Zhao, Xue-yong Shen & Hai-ping Deng

Authors
  1. Yuan Li
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  2. Zhi-yi Qian
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  3. Ke Cheng
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  4. Ling Zhao
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  5. Xue-yong Shen
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  6. Hai-ping Deng
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Contributions

Li Y preformed the experiment and drafted the manuscript. Qian ZY operated the laser device. Cheng K and Zhao L directed the operation of the experiment. The experiment data were analyzed by Deng HP. The manuscript was revised by Shen XY. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hai-ping Deng.

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Conflict of Interest

All the authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.

Supported by the Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (No. 19441901200) and the Three-Year Development Plan Project for Traditional Chinese Medicine of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission [No. ZY (2018-2020)-CCCX-2001-05]

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Li, Y., Qian, Zy., Cheng, K. et al. Effect of Compound Laser Acupuncture-Moxibustion on Blood Glucose, Fasting Insulin and Blood Lipids Levels in Type 2 Diabetic Rats. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 26, 33–38 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-3084-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-3084-9

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