Little is known about how and to what extent the acupuncture analge¬sia influences the endocrine and met¬abolic responses (Kho et al., 1990). Several animal studies have implicat¬ed the anterior pituitary gland as the site of the analgesic effect of acu¬puncture (Pomeranz et al., 1977). The aim of the present study was to inves¬tigate the effects of acupuncture anal¬gesia on pituitary adrenal axis and to identify the role of opioid receptors in mediating these effects in non stressed and stressed rats.
Materials and Methods
The present study was carried on 42 albino rats. Their weight ranged between 200 and 250 grams. The en¬vironmental conditions were standar¬ized(1 2 hours light / dark and temper¬ature 25°c).
The animals were given free ac¬cess to food and water. Rats included in this study were divided into three groups :
Group I : (6 rats) served as con¬trol non stressed rats.
Group II: (18 rats) In this group the effects of acupuncture were stud¬ied. This group was subdivided into three subgroups:
Group Ila : (6 rats) subjected to electro - acupuncture for 15 minutes (Monique and Mathew, 1986 & Politis and Korchinst, 1990).
The needles were inserted unilat¬erally in the upper anterolateral as
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