Am J Gastroenterol. 1997 Sep; 92(9): 1527-30.

Electrical stimulation of acupuncture points enhances gastric myoelectrical activity in humans.

Lin X, Liang J, Ren J, Mu F, Zhang M, Chen JD.

Thomas N. Lynn Institute for Healthcare Research, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Inc., University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Acupuncture is known to enhance gastric motility. Electrical acustimulation has been shown to reduce gastric tachyarrhymia in vection-induced motion sickness. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of electrical stimulation of acupuncture points on gastric myoelectrical activity in healthy humans. METHODS: Nine healthy native Chinese were studied. Gastric myoelectrical activity was recorded using surface electrogastrography (EGG). The EGG recording was made in the fasting state, in a study period during which acupuncture points were electrically stimulated continuously, and in a recovery period after stimulation. The percentage of regular slow waves was assessed by computing the percentage of 2 to 4 cycles per minute slow waves in the EGG. RESULTS: Electrical stimulation significantly increased the percentage of regular slow waves, which was sustained in the recovery period. The increase of the regular slow wave activity resulted from the normalization of arrhythmia. CONCLUSION: Electrical stimulation of acupuncture points may enhance the regularity of gastric myoelectrical activity and may be an option for treatment of gastric dysrhythmia.