ArticleJournal of pharmacopuncture2026
Effects of Acupuncture at ST36 and SP6 on Activity Levels and Pain Thresholds Through Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6, Cortisol, and Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 Modulation in an Osteoarthritis Rat Model.
Article in Journal of pharmacopuncture, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by cartilage degradation, inflammation, and altered stress-related responses. This preclinical study examined the effects of acupuncture at ST36 (stomach 36), SP6 (spleen 6), and their combination on pain thresholds, locomotor function, and inflammation and stress-related biomarkers in a monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA rat model. Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were randomized into five groups a healthy control, an OA control, and three acupuncture-treated groups (ST36, SP6, and ST36 + SP6). Acupuncture-treated groups underwent eight 15-min sessions of acupuncture per day. Pain thresholds and locomotor activity were assessed before and after treatment. Joint tissue was analyzed for interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, cortisol, and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) levels. Group differences were analyzed using appropriate parametric or nonparametric tests, and the associations between biomarkers and behavioral outcomes were assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. Results: The acupuncture-treated rats showed increased pain thresholds (~5.3 g to 9.93-11.60 g, p < 0.05) and higher locomotor activity compared with those in the OA controls. IL-1, IL-6, cortisol, and MMP-13 levels were reduced from pretreatment levels in all acupuncture groups. Biomarker levels were negatively correlated with pain thresholds (r = -0.526 to -0.686) and locomotor activity (r = -0.537 to -0.893; all p < 0.01). Conclusion: In rats with MIA-induced OA, acupuncture was associated with improved pain thresholds and locomotor outcomes and changes in inflammation and stress-related biomarker levels, providing exploratory preclinical evidence linking biomarker modulation with functional responses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.