Progress on the Experimental Research of Sciatic Nerve Injury with Acupuncture

Table 1

Summary table showing the application characteristics of acupuncture on SNI.

Treatment strategy	Selected acupoints	Treatment frequency	Treatment course	Stimulation parameters of EA				Analysis methods	Detailed molecules or factors
				Waveform	Frequency	Current or voltage	Time of treatment
EA (93.3%); MA (4.5%); AA (1.1%); SA (1.1%)	Huantiao (GB30, 66.3%); Zusanli (ST36, 49.4%); Yanglingquan (GB34, 14.6%); Jiaji (EX-B2, 13.5%), Chengshan (BL57, 10.1%), Yinmen (BL37, 9.0%), Weizhong (BL40, 6.7%), Kunlun (BL60, 5.6%), Sanyinjiao (SP6, 4.5%), Taichong (LR3, 2.2%), Shenmai (BL62, 1.1%), and Shenshu (BL23, 1.1%)	Once per day (97.7%); once every 2 days (2.3%)	＞2 W (56.2%); 1–2 W (37.1%); ＜1 W (6.7%)	Dilatational wave (64.5%); Sparse wave (19.7%); Continuous wave (11.8%); Intermittent wave (3.9%)	2/100 Hz (64.5%); ＜10 Hz (19.7%); 15 Hz (9.2%); 20 Hz (6.6%)	Cause mild muscle tremor (84.2%); 1.5 mA (3.9%); 2 mA (3.9%); 20 mV (3.9%); 1.5 V (3.9%)	20 min (36.25%); 10 min (31.25%); 15 min (25.0%); 30 min (3.75%); 9 min (3.75%)	① Behavioral measurement (SFI, pain threshold, toe abduction reflex, and inclined pulling test); ② Functional assessment (sensory and motor nerve conduction velocity, electromyography, and muscle contractility); ③ Morphological, histological, cellular, and molecular measurements	① Growth factor and neurotrophic factors (NGF, bFGF, BDNF, CNTF, IGF-1, SLIT 1/2, Netrin-1); ② Inhibitors, inflammatory, and apoptotic factors and related proteins (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, bcl-2, bax, p53, NT3, fas, fasL, caspase-8, CD34, NF-kB, c-fos, nogo-a, NCAM, GAP-43, Cdc42, and CSPGs); ③ Muscle appearance (NADH-TR); ④ Enzymes and related peptides (AchE, nNOS, P2X3, P2X4, kinesin, SP, dynein, andTrkc); ⑤ Myelin sheath, axon, and Schwann cells (S100, MAG); ⑥ Bone mineral density and blood vessel density (VEGF)

Note. EA: electroacupuncture; MA: manual acupuncture; AA: ankle acupuncture; SA: scalp acupuncture; W: week; AchE: acetylcholinesterase; bcl-2: b cell lymphoma-2; BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; bFGF: basic fibroblast growth factor; Cdc42: cell division cycle 42; CNTF: ciliary neurotrophic factor; CSPGs: chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans; GAP-43: growth-associated protein-43; IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor 1; IL-1β: interleukin-1 beta; IL-6: interleukin 6; MAG: myelin-associated glycoprotein; NADH-TR: nicotinomide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase-tetrazolium reductase; NCAM: neural cell adhesion molecule; NF-kB: nuclear factor kB; NGF: nerve growth factor; NT3: neurotrophin-3; nNOS: neuronal nitric oxide synthase; SLIT 1/2: slit guidance ligand 1/2; SP: substance P; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α; Trkc: tropomyosin receptor kinase C; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor.