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20.05.12
Needles Blunt Rat Stress
Acupuncture significantly reduced a key stress response in rats that, in humans, can contribute to hypertension and heart disease, researchers from Georgetown University reported.
When exposed to cold temperatures, rats mount a stress "fight or flight" response, with secretion of neuropeptide Y. This peptide is also released by the sympathetic nervous system in humans under stress, explained lead author Ladan Eshkevari, PhD.
To assess the effects of acupuncture, four groups of rats were tested. One group did not undergo stress and received no acupuncture (controls), a second was stressed and received no acupuncture, a third was stressed and received sham acupuncture, and the fourth was stressed and received acupuncture at a specific site on the hind legs corresponding to a site used for human treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. The stress consisted of placing the rats in cages containing a layer of crushed ice for an hour each day for two weeks.
Source: MedPage Today