MECHANISMS OF ACUPUNCTURE ANALGESIA: A (FMRI) AND (PET) STUDY

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 针灸在亚洲用于减轻疼痛已有2000多年的历史，现在在西方国家越来越受欢迎。本研究的目的是使用两种不同的脑成像技术，正电子发射断层扫描(PET)和功能磁共振成像(FMRI)，以确定针刺减轻疼痛的特定神经机制。这项研究可能会导致科学界更广泛地接受针灸，并有助于阐明这种干预背后的神经机制。 所有参与者必须有纤维肌痛(FM)的诊断，这是一种慢性疼痛状况，并且没有PET程序、功能磁共振成像中使用的磁场或针灸针的禁忌症。所有受试者将从受试者登记(UM IRB#2002-0678)中招募，通过电话进行初始征集。将亲自从潜在受试者那里获得书面知情同意。所有符合条件的受试者将被随机分配接受传统中医针灸或模拟针灸的安慰剂牙签干预。将使用分层随机方法将参与者分为基线时有抑郁者和无抑郁者。抑郁的参与者将被排除在这项调查的PET部分之外。 主要结果是用PET或fMRI测量的大脑活动的变化。我们将比较针刺组和安慰剂牙签组中被激活的大脑区域。两组人不同的活动表明针灸有独特的机制，而两组人相似的活动则表明针灸主要通过安慰剂机制发挥作用。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Acupuncture has been used for the reduction of pain for over 2000 years in Asia and is now becoming more popular in Western countries. The aim of this study is to use two different brain imaging techniques, positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to determine acupuncture specific neural mechanisms of pain reduction. This research may result in a more widespread acceptance of acupuncture by the scientific community and also help to elucidate neural mechanisms that underlie this intervention. All participants must have the diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic pain condition, and have no contraindications with either the PET procedures, the magnetic fields used in fMRI, or acupuncture needles. All subjects will be recruited from a subject registry (UM IRB # 2002-0678) with an initial solicitation via telephone. A written informed consent will be obtained in person from potential subjects. All eligible subjects will be randomly assigned to receive either traditional Chinese medicine based acupuncture or a placebo toothpick intervention which mimics acupuncture. Stratified randomization will be utilized to divide participants into those with and without depression at baseline. Depressed participants will be excluded from the PET portion of this investigation. The primary outcomes are the changes in brain activity as measured with either PET or fMRI. Comparisons between brain regions that are activated in the acupuncture versus placebo toothpick groups will be made. Different activity between the two groups would suggest unique mechanisms for acupuncture whereas similar activity between the two groups would suggest that acupuncture functions primarily through placebo mechanisms.'