Repeated transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of nonspecific acupoints of the upper body attenuates stress-induced visceral hypersensitivity in rats

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common stress-related gastrointestinal disorder and visceral hypersensitivity (VH) is characteristically found in IBS patients. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) applied to certain acupoints has been shown to benefit IBS patients. Here, we investi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Autonomic neuroscience 2019-09, Vol.220, p.102556-102556, Article 102556
Main Authors: Huang, Chung-Shin, Sun, Ya-Hui, Wang, Yi-Ting, Pan, Yu-Hung, Huang, Ying-Chia, Hsu, Chung-Ming, Tsai, Yuan-Feen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acupoint specificity
Acupuncture Points
Animals
Electromyography
Irritable bowel syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - physiopathology
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - prevention & control
Male
Rats
Stress
Stress, Physiological - physiology
Torso - physiology
Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation - methods
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
Visceral hypersensitivity
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Summary:Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common stress-related gastrointestinal disorder and visceral hypersensitivity (VH) is characteristically found in IBS patients. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) applied to certain acupoints has been shown to benefit IBS patients. Here, we investigated whether nonspecific acupoint is involved in the efficacy of TENS treatment for IBS. Twenty-five male rats were randomly assigned to four experimental groups and one sham-control group. The four experimental groups were defined as TENS-RR, TENS-RL, TENS-LR, and TENS-LL based on the location of the two TENS patches [right (R) or left (L)]. The former and latter letter pairs indicate that the patch locations were the upper chest and upper back, respectively. The heterotypic intermittent stress (HIS) protocol was performed for 16 days. VH was assessed by electromyography to evaluate response to rectal distention (RD). Modulated medium-frequency TENS, sweep range 1–10 Hz, amplitude slightly above the supra motor threshold, was applied 30 min per day followed by RD every second day for the final 7 days of the 16-day HIS period. VH was induced after the rats had been subjected to HIS for 10 days. A significant reduction of VH was observed only in the TENS-LL group compared with that in the sham-control group. These data suggest that repeated TENS treatment can alleviate stress-induced VH in rats. Further, whether TENS patches are attached to the left or right side of the body, which are nonspecific acupoints for gastrointestinal functions, may be an important factor in the treatment of stress-associated gastrointestinal symptoms. •Visceral hypersensitivity (VH), a biological marker of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), is induced by stress in the rat.•Application of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to specific acupoints can treat IBS.•Repeated TENS treatment applied to nonspecific acupoints can reduce stress-induced VH.•The efficacy of TENS treatment for VH depends on the stimulation sites of patch electrodes rather than specific acupoints.•There is a left and right asymmetrical response to nonspecific acupoints TENS treatment.
ISSN:1566-0702
1872-7484
DOI:10.1016/j.autneu.2019.102556