Objective:To investigate the underlying mechanism of acupoint-catgut-embedding in the treatment of simple obesity.Methods:Eighty simple obesity patients were randomly and evenly divided into acupoint-catgut-embedding group and acupuncture group according to the random number table method.Main acupoints selected on the basis of differentiation of symptoms and signs were Liangqiu(ST 34)

Zhongwan(CV 12)

Tianshu(ST 25)

Shuifen(CV 9)

Fenglong(ST 40)and Ashi-point.Catgut embedding was performed once a week

with 4 weeks being a therapeutic course.Acupuncture was given once daily in the 1st 5 days

and once every other day thereafter.Before and after the treatment

body weight(BW)and body mass index(BMI)were detected;fasting blood samples were collected from the ulnar vein for detecting insulin(FINS)and glucose(FBG)contents

and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α concentration with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);and insulin resistance index(IR)was calculated by using Homeostasis Model Assessment(HOMA).Results:Compared with control group

values of BW

BMI

serum FINS

serum FBG

serum TNF-α contents and HOMA-IR of acupoint-catgut-embedding and acupuncture groups were significantly higher(P<0.01)before the treatment.Compared with pretreatment

BW

BMI

FINS

HOMA-IR and TNF-α of both acupoint-catgut-embedding and acupuncture groups decreased significantly after one course of treatment(P<0.05

0.01)

but no significant differences were found between these two groups in these 6 indexes(P>0.05).After the treatment

of the two 40 cases in acupuncture and acupoint-catgut-embedding groups

12 and 13 were cured

13 and 15 had a marked improvement

10 and 8 had an improvement

5 and 4 failed

with the effective rates being 87.5% and 90.0% respectively.No significant difference was found between two groups in the effective rate(P>0.05).Conclusion:Both acupoint-catgut-embedding and acupuncture have a definite therapeutic effect in the treatment of simple obesity

which is closely associated with the decline of serum insulin

glucose and TNF-α levels

and the decrease of insulin resistance.