Moxibustion of Zusanli (ST36) and Shenshu (BL23) Alleviates Cartilage Degradation through RANKL/OPG Signaling in a Rabbit Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Moxibustion of Zusanli (ST36) and Shenshu (BL23) Alleviates Cartilage Degradation through RANKL/OPG Signaling in a Rabbit Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019;2019:6436420 Authors: Chen Y, Li H, Luo X, Liu H, Zhong Y, Wu X, Liu X Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic and chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by severe synovial hyperplasia associated with progressive cartilage degradation. Due to the severe pain and disability caused by RA, effective therapeutic strategies that could simultaneously alleviate the inflammatory response and delay the disease progression are urgently needed. As a major alternative therapy in traditional Chinese medicine, moxibustion has been demonstrated that it could reduce the chronic inflammatory responses of a series of musculoskeletal diseases; however, whether moxibustion has protective effects on RA is still unclear. To investigate the effects of moxibustion on RA, moxibustion was applied to Zusanli (ST36) and Shenshu (BL23) acupoints in a RA rabbit model. HE staining of articular cartilage showed that moxibustion alleviated the cartilage degradation and bone destruction. In addition, moxibustion decreased the osteoclast number in RA rabbits. Real-time PCR revealed that moxibustion decreased the expression of RANKL mRNA while increased the expression of OPG mRNA, indicating a restoration of the balance between osteogenesis and osteoclast...
Source: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Tags: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Source Type: research