Am J Chin Med. 1998 ; 26(1): 13-8.

Comparison of substance P concentration in acupuncture points in different tissues in dogs.

Chan WW, Weissensteiner H, Rausch WD, Chen KY, Wu LS, Lin JH.

Institut f�r Medizinische Chemie, Veterinarmedizinische Universit�t Wien, Vienna, Austria.

Histologically, acupuncture points show neuronal innervation. One hundred seventy-seven tissue samples of acupuncture points and control points from 4 dogs were collected. Concentrations of substance P, a neurotransmitter, in the skin, muscle and subcutis of acupuncture points and control points were measured by means of enzyme immunoassay. The determined tissue concentrations of substance P (mean +/- SEM) in acupuncture points and control points were 1.81 +/- 0.13 and 1.51 +/- 0.1 ng/g in the muscle, 3.33 +/- 0.29 and 2.63 +/- 0.28 ng/g in the skin and 1.59 +/- 0.22 and 1.32 +/- 0.16 ng/g in the subcutis, respectively. The results indicate that there is a difference in the neurochemical profile between acupuncture points and control points.