J Acupunct Meridian Stud 2012;5(1):21e28

- RESEARCH ARTICLE -

Blood Fluidity Enhancement by Electrical

Acupuncture Stimulation is Related to an Adrenergic
Mechanism
Shintaro Ishikawa*, Hiroki Suga, Masaya Fukushima, Atsuhiro Yoshida,
Yuri Yoshida, Masataka Sunagawa, Tadashi Hisamitsu

Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan

Available online Dec 17, 2011

Received: Jun 1, 2011 Abstract

Accepted: Sep 9, 2011
KEYWORDS
blood fluidity;
electrical acupuncture;
endogenous adrenergic
mechanism;
laser scattering platelet
aggregometer;
Micro Channel Array
Flow Analyzer;
platelet aggregation
We have reported that electrical acupuncture stimulation (ACU) increases blood fluidity
by decreasing platelet aggregation. In this study, we investigated the mechanism causing
the increase of blood fluidity. The effects of ACU on blood fluidity and platelet adhesion
were examined using a Micro Channel Array Flow Analyzer (MC-FAN) and a laser scattering
platelet aggregometer (PA-20).
Male Wistar rats (7e8 weeks old) were used in the study. ACU (1 or 100 Hz, 3e5 V),
which causes slight muscle twitching, was applied to the ZuSanli (ST-36) acupoint for
15 or 60 minutes once/day. Blood samples were collected from the inferior vena cava.
ACU applied to ST-36 revealed significant increases in blood fluidity, while platelet adhe-
sion activity decreased, regardless of the difference of stimulus time. The acupuncture had
an immediate effect. Even if naloxone was administered during acupuncture stimulus, the
blood flow time shortened in a similar way, as in the only acupuncture stimulus group. In
addition, the effect of acupuncture on blood fluidity was inhibited by a b-antagonist.
The results indicate that ACU affects blood fluidity depending on the acupoints, and that
the effect of ACU might involve an endogenous adrenergic mechanism.

1. Introduction also cause changes in blood properties [1e5]. Changes of

Blood fluidity is a very important factor when we think
about the drifting of blood flow. It is known that stimuli to
an organism influence the autonomic nervous system and
the endocrine system, and changes in cardiac function and
vascular resistance cause changes in blood flow. It is
established that changes in the cardiovascular system will
blood cell composition and plasma components may influ-
ence blood fluidity in the long term [6], and blood cell
activity, such as red blood cell agglutination, leukocyte
adherence, and platelet aggregation, in the short term
[7,8].
It is believed that variations in blood fluidity result in
disorders of the circulatory system, such as arterial

* Corresponding author. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555,
Japan.
E-mail: s-ishikawa@med.showa-u.ac.jp

Copyright ª 2012, International Pharmacopuncture Institute

doi:10.1016/j.jams.2011.11.003
22 S. Ishikawa et al.

sclerosis or embolism, damage to vascular endothelium

cells by hypertension, glucose tolerance degradation and
chronic inflammation, degradation of blood vessel flexi-
bility by hyperlipemia and aging, weakness of blood cells,
and degradation of plasma plasticity [9,10].
It is assumed that cerebral infarction, myocardial
infarction, and pulmonary infarction are caused by an
increase of thrombus generation. Common treatments and
recurrence prevention for these illnesses include adminis-
tration of thrombus generation depression medicine, such
as warfarin and aspirin [11,12].
The degree of oketsu (Yu xie) is indicated by tongue
color and form, swelling, paroxysmal blushing, and dark
circles under the eyes [13]. However, these indications do
not reflect the real hemogram; oketsu is related to physi-
ological blood flow and is studied from the point of view of
blood fluidity and vascular resistance [14e16]. Some
studies indicate that some Chinese medicines, for example, Figure 1 Ohm Pulser LFP-4000A Protection Frequency
toki-shakuyaku-san (Dang Gui Shao Yao San), keishi- Timer Output Output 1-4 Wave form Output
bukuryo-gan (Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan), and tokaku-joki-to intensity.
(Tao He Cheng Qi Tang), improve blood flow by vasodila-
tion or blood clotting inhibition [17,18]. In an effort to
improve oketsu, in this study we used rats to observe experiments. This study was approved by the Ethics
changes of blood fluidity and platelet aggregation ability Committee of Showa University for Animal Experiments
after applying acupuncture stimuli [19]. (00072).
Our studies on the effect of electrical acupuncture
stimulation (ACU) on blood fluidity have shown that the
2.2. Blood sampling and anticoagulant
effects of acupuncture vary according to the stimulus locus
(acupoint) of the trunk, the arm or the lower extremities.
A 3.5 mL blood sample was obtained from the posterior
Our results have also shown that blood flow time is short-
aorta of the experimental rat anesthetized by abdominal
ened significantly in ZuSanli (ST-36), Hegu (LI-4) and
injection of pentobarbital (Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma
Sanyinjiao (SP-6) stimulated groups, while there are no
Co., Osaka, Japan) with a 22 gauge needle. Blood samples
significant blood flow changes observed when the Neiguan
were collected from the inferior vena cava under pento-
(P-6) and Shenshu (BL-23) acupoints are stimulated.
barbital anesthesia within 5 minutes of treatment. To
Furthermore, the relationship between acupuncture stim-
obstruct coagulation of the blood, 45 units of heparin
ulus and blood cells indicates that the depression of
sodium was added to 1.0 mL of the sample blood, 2.4 mg
platelet aggregation may be related to erythrocyte
of EDTA-2 K to 0.5 mL, and 3.2% of sodium citrate to
deformability or agglutination. The effects of acupuncture
2.0 mL.
stimulus on blood fluidity appear more rapidly than the
effects following needle analgesia. As a result, it is prob-
able that the nervous and the secretion systems alter the
character and the function of blood cells. The mechanisms
that interact between acupuncture stimulus and blood
fluidity, however, have not yet been identified. The present
study investigated the relation between acupuncture
stimulus and length of stimulus time. In addition, the
endogenic opioid and the spinal segment analgesic systems
were studied to clarify their relevance to acupuncture
analgesia, as well as the influence of the adrenaline system
on the cardiovascular system.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Experimental animals

Specific pathogen-free, 7e8 weeks old, male Wister rats
were purchased from Japan Bio-Supply Center (Tokyo,
Japan). The animals were maintained at 25  2 C, humidity
55  5%, and a light and dark cycle of 12 hours in our animal
facilities. The rats were randomly divided into groups of
five and fed a regular chow diet and water during the
Figure 2 The effect of acupuncture stimulus period on blood
fluidity. Blood flow time shortened significantly in the two
groups with stimulation for 15 or 60 minutes. However, there
was no significant difference between the two acupuncture
stimulus groups. Data are expressed as meanstandard error of
the mean.
Blood fluidity enhancement
Figure 3 The effect of acupuncture stimulus frequency on
blood fluidity Blood flow time shortened significantly in the two
groups with stimulation for 1 or 100 Hz. However, there was no
significant difference between the two acupuncture stimulus
groups. Data are expressed as meanstandard error of the
mean.
2.3. Acupuncture stimulus
The modality of acupuncture needle used was
0.20  40 mm (Seirin Co., Shizuoka, Japan). Punctures
were pricked at acupoints to apply the needle equivalency
locus of humans: ZuSanli (ST-36) on the outside crus
superior. ZuSanli was one of the acupoints where the
effect on blood fluidity was confirmed [19] and generally is
known to improve oketsu [20]. In addition, each control
group was anesthetized in the same manner as the
experimental groups, but did not receive stimulation.
Acupuncture was 5 mm deep and stimulated electrically
(3e5 V, 30e200 mA, rectangular and bi-phasic) at a stimu-
lation frequency of 1 Hz or 100 Hz, to permit the muscle to
shrink slightly. The stimulus time was 15 minutes or
Figure 4 The effect of acupuncture stimulation with
naloxone administration on blood fluidity Blood flow time
shortened significantly in the ZuSanli-stimulated and the
ZuSanli-stimulated plus naloxone groups, although there was
no significant difference between these two groups. Data are
expressed as meanstandard error of the mean.
23
Figure 5 The effect of intraperitoneal administered adren-
ergic drugs on blood fluidity. The a-agonist significantly
increased the blood flow time interval, and the b-agonist
significantly decreased the blood flow time interval relative to
the control group. The a-antagonist significantly decreased the
blood flow time interval, and the b-antagonist significantly
increased the blood flow time interval relative to the control
group. Data are expressed as meanstandard error of the mean.
60 minutes [21]. An Ohm Palser LFP-4000A (Zen Iryoki Co.,
Fukuoka, Japan) was used as the device of acupuncture
stimulus (Fig. 1). LFP-4000A has 4 output lines and is able
to stimulate eight points at the same time. It can be useful
for electro acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical
nerve stimulation.
2.4. Measurement of blood fluidity
We determined the blood fluidity using a Micro Channel
Array Flow Analyzer KH-6 (MC-FAN; MC Laboratory Inc.,
Figure 6 The effect of acupuncture stimulation and an
adrenergic drug on blood fluidity. The increase of blood fluidity
by acupuncture was revered with b-antagonist. There was no
significant difference between the b-antagonist plus acupunc-
ture and the control groups. Data are expressed as mean
standard error of the mean.
24
Figure 7 Effect of acupuncture on platelet aggregation
measured by the light transmission method. The light trans-
mission (Trans%) of PRP produced from the acupuncture stim-
ulated blood showed a decrease when compared with the
control. The decrease of platelet aggregation ability by
acupuncture was restrained with b-antagonist.
Tokyo, Japan). Coagulation of blood was blocked by heparin
sodium. Blood (100 mL) was used to measure the flow time
to the silicon tip of the analyzer. We assumed that the flow
time in the analyzer imitated the capillary blood fluidity
index [22]. In an MC-FAN assay, the prolongation of flow
time indicates a decrease of blood fluidity and a short flow
time indicates an increase of blood fluidity [23].
2.5. Adjustment of platelet plasma
The blood sample treated with sodium citrate (2.0 mL) was
centrifuged (400 g  5 minutes; Centrifuge5702R; Eppendorf
Figure 8 Effect of acupuncture on platelet aggregation measured by the light scattering method. The light scattering method
revealed that large-sized aggregates of the acupuncture stimulated group had decreased significantly as compared with the
control. The decrease of platelet aggregation ability by acupuncture was restrained with b-antagonist. Data are expressed as
meanstandard error of the mean.
S. Ishikawa et al.
AG, Hamburg, Germany) resulting in a layer of platelet-rich
plasma (PRP). The remaining blood was re-centrifuged
(2300 g  5 minutes) to obtain platelet-poor plasma (PPP).
2.6. Blood cell count
We used a PCE-210 (Erma Inc., Tokyo, Japan), an automatic
blood cell counter for animals, for complete blood count.
Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and hematocrit
of the EDTA-2 K treated blood samples were counted. PRP
was controlled at 3  106 /mL by platelet-poor plasma.
2.7. Measurement of platelet aggregation ability
The ability of platelet aggregation was measured with
a platelet coagulation measuring system, a platelet
aggregometer (PA-20; Kowa Company Ltd., Tokyo, Japan).
Controlled PRP (270 mL) in a cuvette was pre-warmed to
37 C. Adenosine diphosphate (ADP; Oriental Yeast Co.,
LTD., Tokyo, Japan) was added as an agonist and the
aggregation level was measured.
This PA-20 device can measure platelet aggregation by
the light transmission light scattering methods. The light
scattering method can measure the platelet aggregate size
by determining the intensity of scattered light emitted
from a particle, the light intensity directly corresponding to
the particle size. The platelet aggregation curve was
separately recorded for each size range as the voltage of
light scattering intensity. The aggregates measured were
divided into three categories according to size: small
(diameter 9e25 mm), medium (diameter 26e50 mm), and
large-sized aggregates (diameter 50e70 mm) [24,25].
Blood fluidity enhancement 25

Table 1 Blood properties of each experimental groups (the animals were used in Fig. 2).
Time Body weight (g) PLT (104/mL) WBC (103/mL) RBC (106/mL) Hct (%)
Control (n Z 7) 193.2  5.8 63.9  4.5 5.6  1.2 7.8  0.6 32.2  6.1
ACU 60 min. (n Z 7) 186.5  9.3 62.9  8.2 6.2  1.5 7.1  0.4 37.5  7.8
ACU 15 min. (n Z 7) 189.5  7.4 62.7  0.8 5.7  1.6 7.7  0.7 38.5  4.7
Data are expressed as mean  standard error of mean. PLT:platelet, WBC:white blood cell, RBC:red blood cell, Hct:hematoclit.

2.8. Drugs and administration method
Phenylephrine (Sigma Chem. Co., St Louis, MO, USA)
200 mg/kg was used as an a-agonist, phentolamine (Sigma
Chem. Co., St Louis, MO, USA) 100 mg/kg as an a-antagonist,
isoproterenol (Sigma Chem. Co., St Louis, MO, USA) 4 mg/kg
as a b-agonist, and propranolol (Sigma Chem. Co., St Louis,
MO, USA) 40 mg/kg as a b-antagonist. These are the rec-
ommended clinical dosages of almost 10 times those for
humans [26]. In these experiments, the drugs were dis-
solved in 1 mL of physiological saline and were adminis-
tered by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection into the rats. I.p.
physiological saline (1 mL) was administered to the control
animals. The drugs were administered 5 minutes after
pentobarbital anesthesia and blood was collected
60 minutes after administration of the drug.
The effects of acupuncture with naloxone were
reviewed to determine the reaction mechanism of blood
fluidity.
The ZuSanli was stimulated for 60 minutes while
injecting i.p. naloxone (5 mg/kg, Sigma Chem. Co., St
Louis, MO, USA) into the abdominal cavity every 10 minutes
[27,28]. Physiological saline was injected into the abdom-
inal cavity every 10 minutes in the no-naloxone acupunc-
ture stimulus and the control groups.
2.9. Statistical analysis
The statistical significance between the control and the
experimental groups was analyzed with analysis of vari-
ance, followed by Fisher’s protested least significant
difference test. A p value <0.05 was considered statisti-
cally significant.
or 60 minutes at 1 Hz, 3e5 V to the ZuSanli acupoint.
Acupuncture was stimulated under anesthesia. Blood
samples were collected from the abdominal vein after
acupuncture stimulus. The blood samples were pre-
processed with an anticoagulant (heparin sodium). The
control group was anesthetized in the same manner as
the experimental groups but did not receive stimulation.
The blood flow time from the untreated control group
was 50.78  4.96 seconds; from the 15-minute acupunc-
ture stimulus group, 43.42  0.70 seconds; and from the
60-minute acupuncture stimulated group, 44.73  1.03
seconds (Fig. 2). Results showed that the blood flow time
shortened significantly in the two groups with stimulation
for 15 or 60 minutes. However, there was no significant
difference between the two acupuncture stimulus
groups.
3.1.2. The effect of acupuncture stimulus frequency
We applied acupuncture stimulation to determine the
influence of acupuncture stimulus on blood fluidity for 1 or
100 Hz at 3e5 V for 60 minutes (acupoint ZuSanli).
Acupuncture was stimulated under anesthesia. Blood
samples were collected from the abdominal vein after
acupuncture stimulus. The blood samples were preprocessed
with anticoagulant (heparin sodium). The control group was
anesthetized in the same manner as the experimental groups
but did not receive stimulation. The whole blood flow time of
the control group was 49.89  2.15 seconds, that of the 1 Hz
acupuncture group was 43.52  2.05 seconds, and that of the
100 Hz acupuncture group was 44.53  0.88 seconds. Results
showed that blood flow time shortened significantly in the
two groups with stimulation for 1 or 100 Hz. However, there
was no significant difference between the two acupuncture
stimulus groups (Fig. 3).

3. Results 3.1.3. The effect of acupuncture stimulation with

3.1. Effect of acupuncture on blood fluidity
3.1.1. The effect of acupuncture stimulation period
To determine the influence of acupuncture stimulus on
blood fluidity, we applied acupuncture stimulation for 15
naloxone administration
We reviewed the effect of acupuncture with naloxone to
determine the reaction mechanism of blood fluidity.
Acupuncture on the ZuSanli was stimulated for 60 minutes
while injecting i.p. naloxone (5 mg/kg) into the abdominal
cavity every 10 minutes. Neither acupuncture stimulus nor

Table 2 Blood properties of each experimental groups (the animals were used in Fig. 3).
Frequency Body weight (g) PLT (104/mL) WBC (103/mL) RBC (106/mL) Hct (%)
Control (n Z 7) 175.2  9.8 58.9  5.5 5.4  2.6 4.5  1.6 37.6  2.2
ACU 1 Hz (n Z 7) 179.0  10.4 59.9  8.3 5.0  1.4 4.8  2.3 40.4  3.5
ACU 100 Hz (n Z 7) 175.2  11.0 60.7  5.7 5.2  2.5 5.0  0.5 41.2  4.6
Data are expressed as mean  standard error of mean. PLT:platelet, WBC:white blood cell, RBC:red blood cell, Hct:hematoclit.
26 S. Ishikawa et al.

Table 3 Blood properties of each experimental groups (the animals were used in Fig. 4).
Acupoint Body weight (g) PLT (104/mL) WBC (103/mL) RBC (106/mL) Hct (%)
Control (n Z 7) 195.5  6.2 62.3  3.4 4.7  0.8 5.3  0.6 37.1  2.8
ACU/only (n Z 7) 187.8  8.7 66.7  1.6 4.8  0.6 4.6  0.7 36.2  1.5
ACU/naloxone (n Z 7) 193.5  5.4 60.4  5.3 5.2  0.4 4.9  0.4 33.5  3.5
Data are expressed as mean  standard error of mean. PLT:platelet, WBC:whiteblood cell, RBC:redblood cell, Hct:hematoclit.

naloxone was given to the control groups. Physiological
saline was injected into the abdominal cavity every 10
minutes of the only acupuncture and the control groups.
The whole blood flow time of the control group was
46.91  1.01 seconds, of the acupuncture group was
44.73  1.03 seconds, and of the naloxone inoculation
acupuncture group was 44.26  0.83 seconds. Results
showed that blood flow time decreased significantly in the
ZuSanli-stimulated and the ZuSanli-stimulated plus
naloxone groups, although there was no significant differ-
ence between these two groups (Fig. 4).
3.1.4. The effect of intraperitoneal administered
adrenergic drugs on blood fluidity
We examined the relationship between adrenergic drugs
and blood fluidity (Fig. 5). The time interval for blood from
the untreated control group was 38.00  5.50 seconds, from
the a-agonist-treated group was 48.86  5.50 seconds and
from the b-agonist-treated group was 28.05  0.61 seconds.
Therefore, the a-agonist significantly increased the time
interval and the b-agonist significantly decreased the time
interval relative to the control group. In addition, the
time interval for the a-antagonist-treated group was
32.44  1.57 seconds, and for the b-antagonist-treated
group 73.22  20.63 seconds. Therefore, the a-antagonist
significantly decreased the time interval and the b-antag-
onist significantly increased the time interval relative to
the control group.
3.1.6. The effect of acupuncture stimulation and an
adrenergic drug on platelet aggregation
We examined the degree of platelet aggregation with PA-20
to determine the change of blood fluidity by acupuncture
stimulus. The light transmission (Trans%) of PRP produced
from the acupuncture stimulated blood showed a decrease
when compared with the control (Fig. 7). The light scat-
tering method revealed that large-sized aggregates of the
acupuncture stimulated group had decreased significantly
as compared with the control. In addition, medium and
small-sized aggregates in the stimulated experimental
group increased significantly (Fig. 8). The decrease of
platelet aggregation ability by acupuncture and in the light
transmission and the light scattering method, were
reversed with the b-antagonist (Figs. 7 and 8).
3.2. Basic blood characteristics
In blood fluidity experiments, it is important to consider
factors which influence blood properties: the number of
erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets and hematocrit.
Therefore, in the case of an experiment involving the
administration of a chemical to the abdominal cavity, blood
properties are measured after chemical administration.
The above-mentioned blood properties showed no signifi-
cant differences in both the experiment and control groups
throughout the stages of this study. Rats were assigned to
each group at random (Tables 1e5).

3.1.5. The effect of acupuncture stimulation and an 4. Discussion

adrenergic drug on blood fluidity
We researched the effect of acupuncture with an adren-
ergic drug to determine the reaction mechanism of blood
fluidity. The blood flow time from the untreated control
group was 54.80  4.75 seconds, from the acupuncture
stimulus group was 44.93  0.73 seconds, and from the b-
antagonist-treated and acupuncture stimulus group was
54.69  4.00 seconds. Therefore, the increase of blood
fluidity by acupuncture was reversed with the b-antagonist.
There was no significant difference between the b-antag-
onist plus acupuncture and the control groups (Fig. 6).
Disorders of the cardiovascular system, such as hyperten-
sion, ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disorders,
are controlled at least in part by blood fluidity. In addition,
when humans sustain psychic and physical stress, disorders
of the cardiovascular system increase, and the nervous,
endocrine and immune systems affect blood viscosity
[29e31].
Blood fluidity is controlled by erythrocytes, leukocytes
and blood cell platelets. In addition, it is thought that blood
fluidity is influenced by plasma proteins, glucose and lipids

Table 4 Blood properties of each experimental groups (the animals were used in Fig. 5).
Medicine Body weight (g) PLT (104/mL) WBC (103/mL) RBC (106/mL) Hct (%)
Control (n Z 7) 185.0  9.70 58.9  6.55 6.5  1.06 6.9  0.22 35.0  3.13
aagonist (n Z 7) 183.5  7.43 60.9  4.92 6.4  1.30 6.1  0.44 36.6  2.98
bagonist (n Z 7) 181.3  6.05 63.6  2.08 5.7  1.42 5.8  0.42 39.6  2.14
aantagonist (n Z 7) 184.2  7.80 60.7  3.84 5.5  1.66 6.6  0.36 34.9  4.71
bantagonist (n Z 7) 186.5  10.45 61.0  5.73 6.4  1.17 6.8  0.46 37.1  2.02
Data are expressed as mean  standard error of mean. PLT:platelet, WBC:white blood cell, RBC:red blood cell, Hct:hematoclit.
Blood fluidity enhancement
Table 5 Blood properties of each experimental groups (the same animals were used in Figs. 6e8).
Mean  SE Body weight (g) PLT (104/mL)
Control (n Z 7) 185.0  9.71 59.9  5.55
ACU (only) (n Z 7) 184.2  7.82 61.0  5.63
ACU/antagonist (n Z 7) 183.5  7.66 63.6  6.08
Data are expressed as mean  standard error of mean. PLT:platelet, WBC:white blood cell, RBC:red blood cell, Hct:hematoclit.
in the blood, inflammatory materials and cytokines. An
increase of hematocrit or degradation of erythrocyte
deformability becomes resistant when blood passes through
thin blood vessels, such as blood capillaries [32]. It is known
that an increase of leukocyte adhesion or platelet aggre-
gation ability enhances blood viscosity (Poiseuille’s law)
[33,34], and reduced blood fluidity increases blood pressure
and the risk of thrombosis.
In addition, when the adhesive property of leukocytes
moving along the vascular wall increases, blood flow rate
near the vascular wall is slower than that in the central
area of the blood vessel. Enhancement of the leukocyte
adhesive property increases intravascular friction (shear-
stress) according to Newton’s law of friction. An increase of
shear-stress deteriorates blood fluidity [8,35e39].
In this experiment, the numbers of leukocytes, eryth-
rocytes and platelets and the percent of hematocrit,
showed no difference between the control and the exper-
imental groups (Tables 1e5). These results, therefore,
suggest that acupuncture stimulus influences platelet
aggregation and the blood coagulation systems. Heparin
sodium is combined with antithrombin III and inhibits
thrombin activity, coagulation factor Xa and XIIa. In other
words, heparin sodium does not inhibit agglomeration of
platelets directly. MC-FAN blood fluidity observation
showed the influence of platelet aggregation ability,
erythrocyte deformability and blood cell number. Hemat-
ocrit and red blood cell count showed no differences
between the dosage and the control groups (Tables 1e5).
These results, therefore, suggest that acupuncture stimulus
influences platelet aggregation and the blood coagulation
systems.
Fig. 2 shows that when a short period of stimulation (15
minutes) was applied to the ZuSanli acupoint, blood fluidity
was enhanced compared with the control group. These
results show that blood fluidity was enhanced after a short
time stimulus, suggesting that acupuncture stimulus has an
immediate effect, possibly through a nervous system, on
blood fluidity.
Fig. 3 shows that when the acupuncture stimulus
frequency changed, the blood fluidity was enhanced at
both 1 Hz and 100 Hz. This result indicates that blood
fluidity is not affected by change of stimulus frequency. It is
known that a low-frequency (1e2 Hz) or a high-frequency
(>100 Hz) stimulus influences mechanisms other than
those of acupuncture analgesia [28]. An operation is
enabled only by acupuncture anesthesia if these two
mechanisms influence. We think that a decrease of noci-
ception affects blood fluidity. Electric acupuncture of low
frequency stimulus (1e5 Hz) secretes arterenol, serotonin
and b-endorphin in the central nervous system. It is thought
that the secretion of these transmitters has analgesic and
27
WBC (103/mL) RBC (106/mL) Hct (%)
6.3  1.26 6.9  0.94 34.9  6.13
6.4  0.96 6.0  0.88 35.6  5.69
6.2  2.24 6.8  0.67 37.6  5.16
sedative effects on the descending pain modulatory system
or the endogenic opioid system [28,40,41]. The precedence
study shows acupuncture analgesic system of diffuse
noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) participated in
acupuncture and moxibustion induced-analgesia through
the endogenous opioid system [42]. In addition, spinal
segment-related analgesia occurs at high-frequency
(>100 Hz) electric acupuncture. This analgesic system
produces an analgesic effect in concurrence with the start
of the stimulus. It is thought that the gate control theory
applies because this system does not compete with
naloxone administration [40,41,43,44].
The results of Fig. 2 show that blood fluidity changes
with short time electro acupuncture, suggesting the inter-
vention of the nervous system. However, when we consider
the fact that blood fluidity was not affected by a difference
of stimulus frequency or naloxone administration, it can be
surmised that the endogenic opioid system and the spinal
segment system do not contribute to blood fluidity. We
speculate that acupuncture stimulus changes blood fluidity
by the automatic nervous system and axon reflex, and does
not influence the opioid system and the spinal segment
analgesia system.
Fig. 6 shows that the reaction of blood fluidity enhanced
with acupuncture stimulus may disappear with a b-antag-
onist. In addition, Figs. 7 and 8 show that the decreases of
platelet aggregation ability by acupuncture, in the light
transmission and the light scattering methods, were
reversed with a b-antagonist. These results show that a b-
antagonist inhibits a change of blood fluidity, and
acupuncture stimulus affects blood platelets, suggesting
that the influence on blood fluidity of acupuncture stimulus
is a reaction of the sympathetic nervous system.
When a pain occurs from a bruise, distortion and muscle
ache, acupuncture treatment desensitizes the pain. A great
deal of preliminary research shows that acupuncture inhibits
the nerve action of pain. We hypothesize that acupuncture
stimulus changes blood fluidity, separately from the cardio-
vascular system, and a new blood flow improvement system
removing pain from a lesion is present.
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