Abstract
There are numerous clinical evidences on the analgesic effect of acupuncture and moxibustion (mox) for OA, however its action mechanism has not been clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of indirect mox on the knee OA model in the rat. Male Wistar rats (n=20, 296-421g) were used. Experimental OA was induced by injection of mono-iodoacetate (MIA) (3mg, 50 μl) into the knee joint. Animals were divided into mox and control (non treatment) groups. Rats in the mox group received a single indirect mox on the lateral side of ipsilateral joint for 28days every other day. Pain related behavior was measured using a hind limbs weight. Percentage of the ipsilateral limb weight of total hind limbs weight was calculated. In the control group, a significant decrease of% weight in ipsilateral limb continued for 14days post injection. On the other hand, a significant decrease in ipsilateral limb lasted for 7days in mox group. In the initial 7 days, no apparent difference between the control and mox groups were observed. Area under the curves (AUC) of baseline in both groups were calculated during 28 days after MIA injection. The AUC in the mox group was significantly smaller than that of control group. In this study, indirect mox has a potential to reduce the osteoarthritis pain after 7 days of repetitive treatments. This kind of slowly developed analgesic action of mox is similar to those of in the clinical situation and the underlying mechanisms will be discussed. [J Physiol Sci. 2007;57 Suppl:S113]
