Objective: This work was designed to observe the influence of otoneedle on the content of ACTH in hypothalamus and explore its mechanism.

Method: l2 Wistar rats weighing 200-250g were randomly divided into test group and control group. In the test group, needle-embedding therapy was applied to ear points Yuanzhong on both sides for 3 hours. The rats were perfused and fixed by phosphoric buffer solution (containing 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.25% glutara1dehyde). After extraction of the hypothalamus and frozen section, immunohistochemicaI reaction was tested with ABC method.

Results: In acupuncture group, there were more ACTH positive neurons in the arcuate nuc1ei of hypothalamus than those of the control group. Moreover, many ACTH positive neurons existed in paraventricu1ar nucleus and supraoptic nuc1eus.

Conclusion: Acupuncture can promote the synthesis and secretion of ACTH in hypothalamus, which may participate in the regulation process of the organism.

　　By Yang Maoyou & Wang Yecheng
　　Changchun Co1lege of TCM, Changchun l30021, China.