Acupunct Electrother Res. 1992 Oct-Dec; 17(4): 273-83.

An introduction to sequential electric acupuncture (SEA) in the treatment of stress related physical and mental disorders.

Chen A.

Department of Anesthesiology, Wayne County General Hospital, Westland, Michigan.

A method of sequential electrical stimulation to certain acupuncture loci was found to be effective in the treatment of stress related physical and mental disorders. Recent research found that cerebral serotonin has anti-depressant and analgesic effects. It was reported that cerebral serotonin can be released by the stimulation of certain acupuncture loci. Omura reported that the stimulation of ST36 and GB20 increased intracephalic blood flow. Increasing intracephalic blood flow may indirectly increase the quantity of serotonin released. The release of serotonin can be enhanced further by sequential stimulation of these acupuncture loci. A marked degree of mental relaxation by SEA was shown in this study of 85 clinical cases of chronic physical disorders, e.g. intractable pain, headache, with most disorders complicated by reactive depression. Some of the cases were psycho-somatic disorders. The percentage of improvement from slight to remarkable between mental disorders (78.8%) and physical disorders (77.1%) is about equal. The method of treatment and schematic of the SEA device are discussed and shown.