Jeannette Painovich1, Anita Phancao1, Puja Mehta1, Supurna Chowdhury1, Shivani Dhawan1, Ning Li1, Doris Taylor1, Yi Qiao1, Anna Brantman1, Xiuling Ma1, C Noel Bairey Merz1. 1. is a research acupuncturist; is a cardiology fellow; is director of the Non-Invasive Vascular Function Research Lab; is a research associate III; is a clinical research associate II; is a research scientist and assistant professor; is an acupuncturist; is an acupuncturist; is an acupuncturist; and is a professor of medicine and the center director. All are located at Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. is the director of regenerative medicine research at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the number one killer of men and women in the United States, and despite traditional secondary prevention, individuals with the disease remain at risk. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may have beneficial effects on atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, and vascular repair and may contribute systemically to ongoing endogenous repair processes. Traditional acupuncture (TA), a modality used in the practice of Chinese medicine, appears to have beneficial effects in many areas associated with CHD. OBJECTIVE: The study examined the effects of TA on circulating EPCs in individuals with CHD. DESIGN: The research team performed a randomized, controlled pilot study. SETTING: All interventions were performed at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 13 participants in 3 groups: (1) TA (n = 5), (2) sham acupuncture (SA, n = 5), or (3) waiting control (WC, n = 3). INTERVENTION: The TA group received acupuncture treatments for 12 wk at CHD-specific sites, while the SA group received no-needle pressure at nonacupuncture sites for the same period, and the WC group received no intervention. OUTCOME MEASURES: The study measured the number of EPCs circulating in peripheral blood to determine cell surface markers for expressions of cluster of differentiation 34, 133 (CD34+/CD133+) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGF-R2+). RESULTS:Eight men and 5 women with a mean age of 59 ± 10.9 y were included. Compared with their measurements at baseline, members of the TA group had a significantly greater change in the level of EPCs expressing CD34+/VEGF-R2+ compared with the SA group (P = .04). No group differences were evident in immature EPCs expressing CD34+/CD133+. CONCLUSION: The study's results suggest that TA can alter the number of EPCs circulating in peripheral blood by increasing the mobilization of the VEGF-R2+ EPC subpopulations. Further studies are warranted to evaluate whether TA can beneficially affect CHD via augmentation of EPC regenerative pathways.
RCT Entities:
CONTEXT: Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the number one killer of men and women in the United States, and despite traditional secondary prevention, individuals with the disease remain at risk. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may have beneficial effects on atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, and vascular repair and may contribute systemically to ongoing endogenous repair processes. Traditional acupuncture (TA), a modality used in the practice of Chinese medicine, appears to have beneficial effects in many areas associated with CHD. OBJECTIVE: The study examined the effects of TA on circulating EPCs in individuals with CHD. DESIGN: The research team performed a randomized, controlled pilot study. SETTING: All interventions were performed at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 13 participants in 3 groups: (1) TA (n = 5), (2) sham acupuncture (SA, n = 5), or (3) waiting control (WC, n = 3). INTERVENTION: The TA group received acupuncture treatments for 12 wk at CHD-specific sites, while the SA group received no-needle pressure at nonacupuncture sites for the same period, and the WC group received no intervention. OUTCOME MEASURES: The study measured the number of EPCs circulating in peripheral blood to determine cell surface markers for expressions of cluster of differentiation 34, 133 (CD34+/CD133+) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGF-R2+). RESULTS: Eight men and 5 women with a mean age of 59 ± 10.9 y were included. Compared with their measurements at baseline, members of the TA group had a significantly greater change in the level of EPCs expressing CD34+/VEGF-R2+ compared with the SA group (P = .04). No group differences were evident in immature EPCs expressing CD34+/CD133+. CONCLUSION: The study's results suggest that TA can alter the number of EPCs circulating in peripheral blood by increasing the mobilization of the VEGF-R2+ EPC subpopulations. Further studies are warranted to evaluate whether TA can beneficially affect CHD via augmentation of EPC regenerative pathways.
Authors: Carmen Urbich; Christopher Heeschen; Alexandra Aicher; Elisabeth Dernbach; Andreas M Zeiher; Stefanie Dimmeler Journal: Circulation Date: 2003-10-27 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Maura Paul-Labrador; Donna Polk; James H Dwyer; Ivan Velasquez; Sanford Nidich; Maxwell Rainforth; Robert Schneider; C Noel Bairey Merz Journal: Arch Intern Med Date: 2006-06-12