Paper

• 多芯円皮鍼による局所血流反応 ランダム化クロスオーバー試験
  Aug. 2025, [Reviewed]

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• Evaluation of Newly Developed Sham Acupuncture Needle with a Special Focus on Needling Sensation: a Randomized Controlled Trial.
  Daiyu Shinohara; Namiki Shinozaki; Ryo Takahashi; Kenji Imai
  Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies, 28 Feb. 2023, [Reviewed]
  BACKGROUND: Most non-penetrating sham and placebo acupuncture needles comprise a traditional pedestal for fixing the guide tube that makes these needles difficult to operate independently. We developed a simple sham acupuncture needle to overcome this problem and focused on managing the needling sensation. OBJECTIVES: To ascertain how differently participants feel sham and real needles and to evaluate whether sham needles are effective in clinical trials. METHODS: After enrolling 64 healthy volunteers who had experienced and were knowledgeable about acupuncture, the practitioner randomly used real and sham needles at four sites (bilateral LI4 and LI10) on the participants' forearms. A custom-made sham blunt stainless acupuncture needle (40 mm, 0.80 mm) that was inserted into a guide tube was used. Immediately after needling, the participants were questioned in regard to their identification of the needle, skin penetration sensation, and de qi. RESULTS: The sham needle resulted in 62.5% blinding. Inequivalent sensations were elicited by the sham needles compared to the real needles. Women reported similar needling sensations from the sham and real needles. CONCLUSION: This study achieved comparatively higher sham-needle blinding and is therefore worthy of use in clinical trials. The mutual independence of the sham needle from the real needle was mediated presumably by interindividual differences among the participants and the needling sites. Sex differences in sensation were likely related to the blinding capability of the sham needle.

  DOI URL
• Link Between Electroacupuncture Stimulation near the Sympathetic Trunk and Heart Rate Variability.
  Kazufumi Takahashi; Xiaoming Wang; Daiyu Shinohara; Kenji Imai
  Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies, 30 Apr. 2022, [Reviewed]
  BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular system and airway smooth muscles are regulated by the autonomic nervous system. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effect of electrical acupuncture stimulation near the cervical sympathetic ganglia on heart rate variability and respiratory function. METHODS: This prospective, single-center study at Teikyo Heisei University recruited 24 healthy adults randomly assigned to no-stimulation and electroacupuncture (EA) groups in a crossover trial with a 2-week washout period. After 5 min of rest, a 5-min rest or acupuncture stimulus was delivered, followed by a further 5 min of rest for both groups. EA, at 2-Hz (level of no pain), was delivered near the left cervical ganglia at the level of the sixth cervical vertebra in the EA group. RESULTS: The high-frequency component of the heart rate variability was significantly higher in the EA group than that in the no-stimulation group. Further, there was a significant increase in the high-frequency component of the heart rate in the EA group during the stimulation compared to before and after stimulation. Heart rate decreased significantly during EA compared to before stimulation in the EA group. Regarding respiratory function, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and peak flow significantly increased in the EA group compared with the no-stimulation group, and after stimulation compared with before stimulation. CONCLUSION: Stimulation with 2-Hz EA near the cervical sympathetic trunk increased parasympathetic nerve activity and reduced heart rate. However, the respiratory function was activated via increased sympathetic nerve activity. Therefore, 2-Hz EA may be effective for autonomic nerve regulation in bronchial stenosis.

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• Virtual reality(VR)技術を用いたOptokinetic motion sicknessの誘発 胃電図および心拍変動解析を用いた検討
  Dec. 2020, [Reviewed]

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• 胃膨満感および胃痛を訴える患者1症例に対する鍼治療の経験
  Nov. 2019, [Reviewed]

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