Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Electroacupuncture helps stomach function in dogs after nerve surgery
By Ouyang, Hui et al.·Published in Digestive diseases and sciences·2004·Department of Research Transneuronix Research and VA Research & Education Foundation, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Electroacupuncture restores impaired gastric accommodation in vagotomized dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs that had surgery to cut the vagus nerve (vagotomy) were studied to see if electroacupuncture could help improve their stomach function. These dogs had trouble with their stomachs not expanding properly after eating, which is a condition known as impaired gastric accommodation. After receiving electroacupuncture treatment, the dogs showed a significant improvement in how much their stomachs could hold after meals. This suggests that electroacupuncture might be a helpful treatment for dogs with similar stomach issues.
People also search for: dog stomach problems · electroacupuncture for dogs · vagotomy effects in dogs · gastroparesis treatment for dogs
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on impaired gastric accommodation in a canine model. Ten dogs were chronically implanted with a gastric cannula in the stomach. Truncal vagotomy was performed in five of the dogs. A polyethylene bag attached at the end of a catheter was placed in the proximal stomach via the cannula. Gastric compliance, gastric tone, and postprandial gastric accommodation were evaluated using a gastric barostat with and without EA on two separate days, respectively. Results were as follows. (1) The postprandial gastric volume increase was 180.8 +/- 54.3 ml in vagotomized dogs, which was significantly lower than that (317.3 +/- 37.3 ml; P < 0.05) in normal dogs. (2) In normal dogs, EA did not affect gastric compliance, basal gastric tone, or postprandial gastric accommodation. (3) In vagotomized dogs, EA did not affect gastric compliance or basal gastric tone but restored the impaired gastric accommodation. The postprandial gastric volume increase was significantly enhanced with EA compared to the control (275.0 +/- 45.8 vs. 180.8 +/- 54.3 ml; P < 0.02). EA restores impaired gastric accommodation induced by vagotomy and may have therapeutic potential for patients with gastroparesis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15481313/