Brief Effect of Acupuncture on the Peripheral Arterial System of the Upper Limb and Systemic Hemodynamics in Humans Shin Takayama, MD, PhD, 1 Takashi Seki, MD, PhD, 1 Masashi Watanabe, MA, 1 Yasutake Monma, MS, 1 San Yue Yang, BA, 1 Norihiro Sugita, DEng, 2 Satoshi Konno, MD, PhD, 3 Yoshifumi Saijo, MD, PhD, 4 Tomoyuki Yambe, MD, PhD, 3 Nobuo Yaegashi, MD, PhD, 1 Makoto Yoshizawa, DEng, 5 and Shin-ichi Nitta, MD, PhD 3 Abstract Background: Pulse diagnosis of the peripheral artery is an important technique in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where, in acupuncture therapy, the treatment is adjusted according to the observed changes of the pulse. We investigated the change of blood flow in the peripheral artery and the cardiac index during acupuncture treatment. Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the effect of acupuncture on radial and brachial artery blood flow volume and the cardiac index in healthy subjects. Methods: Eighteen (18) healthy volunteers were enrolled. Acupuncture was performed bilaterally on LR-3 with manual rotation of the needles. The blood pressure and heart rate were measured at rest and 180 seconds after acupuncture. Radial and brachial artery blood flow volume was monitored continuously by an ultrasound with an echo-tracking system. Cardiac index was measured by impedance cardiography. The hemodynamic parameters were measured before, during, and 30, 60, 180 seconds after acupuncture. Results: The peripheral artery blood flow volume decreased significantly during acupuncture (radial; p < 0.01, brachial; p < 0.05) but increased at 180 seconds after acupuncture (radial; p < 0.05, brachial; p < 0.05) compared with before acupuncture. The cardiac index did not change significantly after acupuncture, but systemic vascular resistance index significantly decreased ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: The present study showed that radial and brachial artery blood flow volume decreased immedi- ately during acupuncture on LR-3 acupoint, but increased at 180 seconds after acupuncture. This reaction is attributed to the change in peripheral vascular resistance. Introduction A cupuncture has been widely applied to treat several conditions such as neck pain, shoulder pain, lumbar pain, headache, and hypertension in Asian and Western countries, and has also been found to be effective for a number of conditions in a number of randomized trials. 1–7 The evalu- ation of the radial pulse is an important diagnostic technique in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Radial, carotid, fibular, and posterotibial arteries have been used in pulse diagnosis. However, the radial pulse is more common in clinical pulse diagnosis. Acupuncture therapy is adjusted according to the observed alterations of the radial pulse, and is monitored through changes of the radial pulse pattern. There have been some reports about the hemodynamic influences of acupunc- ture using a single acupoint, 8–10 but its effects on the changes of blood flow volume in the peripheral artery have not been demonstrated. Furthermore, the relationship between peripheral artery blood flow and the cardiac index as related to acupuncture has not been studied in human subjects. Liver in TCM is different from the Western medical liver organ. Liver has been thought to have the functions of 1 Center for Asian Traditional Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 2 Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 3 Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 4 Department of Biomedical Imaging, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 5 Research Division on Advanced Information Technology, Cyberscience Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Volume 16, Number 7, 2010, pp. 707–713 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2009.0355 707