Effect Of Acupuncture On Circulating Cytokines In Healthy Subjects
Journal of Medical Acupuncture, Vol. 15, #2
….Recent evidence suggests the effects of acupuncture may be mediated through multiple pathways, involving both the nervous and immune systems. Acupuncture stimulates endogenous opioid peptides and may modulate other neurotransmitters involved in pain perception at various levels of the central and peripheral nervous system, including serotonin.7,26
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In patients with a variety of cancers, LI 4 acupuncture combined with ST 36, PC 6 or Nei Guam, and Renmai 4 (CV 4 or Guan Yuan) increased the percentage of some T-lymphocytes subsets (CD4+/CD8+ ratio alteration), increased circulating b-endorphins, and decreased the concentration of soluble IL-2 receptor in peripheral blood.11,38
7- Cheng RS, Pomeranz B. Electroacupuncture analgesia could be mediated by at least two pain-relieving mechanisms, endorphin and non-endorphin systems. Life Sci. 1979;25:1957-1962
11- Wu B, Zhou RX, Zhou MS. Effect of acupuncture on immunomodulation in patients with malignant tumors [in Chinese]. Chung-Kuo Chung His I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih. 1996;16:139-141.
26- heng RS, Pomeranz B. Monoaminergic mechanism of electroacupuncture. Brain Res. 1981;215:77-92.
38- Wu B. Effect of acupuncture on the regulation of cell-mediated immunity in the patients with malignant tumors [in Chinese]. Chen Tzu Yen Chiu Acupunct Res. 1995;20:67-71.
Biomechanical response to acupuncture needling in humans
J Appl Physiol 91: 2471–2478, 2001.
(..)Skin electrical conductance has been found to be lower at acupuncture points than at control points.
Moxibustion Articles and the ST36 Meridian Point
http://www.jcrows.com/moxaarticles.html
(1) It increases the production of white blood cells. The white blood cell count begins to increase immediately after direct moxibustion, and reaches a peak 8 hours later. This peak is maintained for 24 hours. The number remains elevated for four or five days after treatment. The white blood cell count almost doubles with moxibustion, but when applied continuously for six weeks, the increase is sustained for up to even three months after moxibustion is discontinued.
Acupuncture And The Cancer Patient
Kenneth A. Conklin, MD.
ABSTRACT
The use of acupuncture in oncology, for management of treatment-related adverse effects and for palliative care, is finding greater acceptance in Western medicine. Although the evidence is not extensive and for many applications, randomized controlled trials are lacking, acupuncture appears to be of benefit for managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting; cancer-related pain; generalized symptoms that result from treatment, including fatigue, insomnia, diarrhea, and anorexia; radiotherapy-induced xerostomia; brachial plexopathy resulting from axillary lymphadenectomy for breast cancer; treatment-related vasomotor symptoms; radiotherapy-induced rectitis; dysphagia due to carcinomatous obstruction; and end-of-life symptoms such as dyspnea. Studies further suggest that acupuncture enhances immune function and is effective for treatment of chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-induced myelosuppression.
KEY WORDS
Acupuncture, Xerostomia, Cancer, Radiotherapy, Nausea, Chemotherapy, Dyspnea
INTRODUCTION
Chemotherapy, biological therapy, and radiation therapy are based on an understanding of cancer cell characteristics such as how the cancer cell cycle differs from the cycle of normal cells and the processes involved in the development of cancer including initiation, promotion, and progression. Although Eastern medicine views cancer quite differently than does Western medicine, using acupuncture to treat cancer patients and manage adverse effects induced by conventional cancer therapies is based on sound Eastern principles. This review addresses cancer and the development of therapy-induced adverse effects from both an Eastern and Western perspective; it also reviews the literature regarding use of acupuncture for treatment of chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced adverse effects and cancer-related symptoms.
Journal of Medical Acupuncture, Vol. 14, #1
Acupuncture and endorphins
Ji-Sheng Han*
Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University and Key Laboratory of Neuroscience (Peking University), Ministry of Education, 38 Xue-Yuan Road,
Beijing 100083, PR China
Abstract
Acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA) as complementary and alternative medicine have been accepted worldwide mainly for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Studies on the mechanisms of action have revealed that endogenous opioid peptides in the central nervous system play an essential role in mediating the analgesic effect of EA. Further studies have shown that different kinds of neuropeptides are released by EA with different frequencies. For example, EA of 2 Hz accelerates the release of enkephalin, b-endorphin and endomorphin, while that of 100 Hz selectively increases the release of dynorphin. A combination of the two frequencies produces a simultaneous release of all four opioid peptides, resulting in a maximal therapeutic effect. This finding has been verified in clinical studies in patients with various kinds of chronic pain including low back pain and diabetic neuropathic pain.
Keywords: Acupuncture; Electroacupuncture; Opioid peptides; Pain; Analgesia
Neuroscience Letters 361 (2004) 258–261
2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.