Anti‐inflammatory actions of acupuncture

Abstract

Acupuncture has a beneficial effect when treating many diseases and painful conditions, and therefore is thought to be useful as a complementary therapy or to replace generally accepted pharmacological intervention. The attributive effect of acupuncture has been investigated in inflammatory diseases, including asthma, rhinitis, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, epicondylitis, complex regional pain syndrome type 1 and vasculitis. Large randomised trials demonstrating the immediate and sustained effect of acupuncture are missing. Mechanisms underlying the ascribed immunosuppressive actions of acupuncture are reviewed in this communication. The acupuncture-controlled release of neuropeptides from nerve endings and subsequent vasodilative and anti-inflammatory effects through calcitonine gene-related peptide is hypothesised. The complex interactions with substance P, the analgesic contribution of beta-endorphin and the balance between cell-specific pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10 are discussed.

Corticosterone mediates electroacupuncture-produced anti-edema in a rat model of inflammation

“…Acupuncture, a therapeutic modality with few or no adverse effects, has been used in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years to treat a variety of conditions, including inflammatory disease [5,6]. Clinical trials show that electroacupuncture (EA) has beneficial effects in patients with various inflammatory diseases [7]. A recent clinical trial reported that EA significantly alleviated the symptoms of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) compared to sham acupuncture control during a long follow-up period of 26 weeks [8].…”

Acupuncture: An Alternative Therapy in Dentistry and Its Possible Applications

“…A review article by Zijlstra et al 21 suggested a hypothesis for the anti-inflammatory action of acupuncture. According to the authors, the insertion of acupuncture needles stimulates release of b-endorphins (calcitonin gene-related peptide [CGRP] and substance P).…”

Acupuncture in Primary Headache Disorders; Review of the Evidence

“…There are several mechanisms through which acupuncture believes to affect the neurophysiology and pain pathways. These include stimulation of nerves and muscles with subsequent release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors affecting the pain pathways in brain and spinal cord [10,11], anti-inflammatory effects through release of immunomodulatory and vascular factors [12]; by increasing neuropeptide Y [13] or endorphin levels [14]. It is suggested that acupuncture might work through variable combination of peripheral and central mechanisms along with psychological (placebo) effects [15].…”