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Research advances in neurobiological mechanism of acupuncture for amblyopia

针刺干预弱视的神经生物学机制研究进展

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Abstract

Amblyopia greatly affects the physical and mental development of children. Acupuncture is effective for amblyopia, though its mechanism remains unclear. This article summarized the mechanism of acupuncture treatment of amblyopia from the perspectives of morphology of neurons in visual cortex, visual electrophysiology, and molecular biology, etc. It was found that acupuncture may treat amblyopia through repairing the morphological and ultrastructural damages of neurons in visual cortex, promoting the electrical activities in visual pathway and visual cortical neurons, and modulating the synthesis and expression levels of factors involved in visual system. Nevertheless, further studies are required to unveil the mechanism of acupuncture treatment of amblyopia.

摘要

弱视严重影响患儿生理及心理发育。 针刺疗法是治疗弱视的有效方法之一, 但对其机制尚未完全明确。 从视皮层神经元形态学、 视觉电生理、 分子生物学等方面总结针刺干预弱视的机制, 发现针刺通过修复视皮层神经元形态及超微结构损害, 促进视觉通路及视皮层神经元电活动, 调控视觉系统相关分子合成和表达水平达到 干预弱视的目的。 对于针刺干预弱视机制仍需进一步研究。

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (国家自然科学基金, No. 81860879, No. 81660816, No. 81260560); Innovation Fund for the Mid-aged and the Young of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine ( 甘肃中医药大学中青年创新基金, No. ZQ2015-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Chong-bing Ma  (马重兵), Tian-tian Zhu  (朱田田), An-guo Liu  (刘安国), Zhao-xia Cao  (曹朝霞) & Xing-ke Yan  (严兴科)

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  1. Chong-bing Ma  (马重兵)
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  2. Tian-tian Zhu  (朱田田)
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  3. An-guo Liu  (刘安国)
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  4. Zhao-xia Cao  (曹朝霞)
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  5. Xing-ke Yan  (严兴科)
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Correspondence to Xing-ke Yan  (严兴科).

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Ma, Cb., Zhu, Tt., Liu, Ag. et al. Research advances in neurobiological mechanism of acupuncture for amblyopia. J. Acupunct. Tuina. Sci. 17, 278–283 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11726-019-1118-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11726-019-1118-7

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