Evidence in mice that electroacupuncture reduces inflammation via
specific neural pathways

Date:
August 12, 2020
Source:
Cell Press
Summary:
Stimulating the nervous system using small electric current by
acupuncture could tamp down systemic inflammation in the body,
suggests new research in mice.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Stimulating the nervous system using small electric current by acupuncture could tamp down systemic inflammation in the body, suggests new research
in mice from a team of neuroscientists in the U.S. and China. The
research, publishing August 12 in the journal Neuron, helps to map the neuroanatomical underpinnings of this ancient medical practice.


========================================================================== "Most Western medicine has been focusing on blocking the neural pathways
of pain to relieve the symptoms, but there are so many pain pathways
and so many ways to open each of them," says senior author Qiufu
Ma, a researcher at Harvard Medical School who has been studying the neuroanatomic basis of pain for years. Inspired by the core ideology of traditional Chinese medicine, which is to treat a disease by addressing
the root cause, Ma and his team aim to target inflammation, a common
source of human diseases and pain.

Previous studies have shown direct vagal nerve stimulations in the neck
region can help reduce inflammation, but these experimental approaches
require invasive procedures. With this in mind, Ma and his team set out
to investigate whether and how electric stimulation using acupuncture,
which only involves inserting thin needles through the skin, can modulate inflammation.

The team began by giving mice a 15-minute electroacupuncture at 3 mA at
a specific site on the abdomen. This acupoint, dubbed ST25, has been
associated with nerves of the spleen, which is a major organ involved
in immune responses.

The team then simulated a life-threatening inflammatory condition that
is often seen in patients suffering severe bacterial or virus infections
by injecting mice with a compound called lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After injecting the treated mice with LPS, researchers found the serum levels
of pro-inflammatory molecules in these animals was significantly lower
than that of the control group. The mice's survival rates also more than doubled. However, when the team gave mice the electroacupuncture after
the LPS shot, the treated mice had much greater inflammation than those
that were untreated and did not survive.

By comparing the effect of electroacupuncture in mice with an altered
nervous system, the team determined that high intensity stimulation at
the abdomen could excite norepinephrine-producing nerves that connect
the spine and spleen.

The norepinephrine then activated a particular type of receptors
in the spleen that suppressed pro-inflammatory molecules. But when
LPS was introduced first, another type of splenic receptors --
pro-inflammatory in this case -- became highly expressed, and the
subsequent electroacupuncture therapy further enhanced inflammation.

"We were really surprised to find that the same input has completely
opposite outcomes in different disease stages," Ma says. "But a lot
of the time, a patient would only come to us if they already have
the disease. So we wanted to find out if there is a way to reduce
inflammation as a treatment." The team then conducted electroacupuncture
at a different acupoint, this time on mice's hindlegs. They found
stimulation at a low intensity of 0.5 mA for 15 minutes could
significantly reduce pro-inflammatory molecule levels either before or
after LPS-injection. Mice's survival rate after electroacupuncture also increased by 1-fold or more. A genetically modified mice model suggests
that low-level electroacupuncture at hindlegs reduced inflammation not
though the spleen, but a different neural pathway involving the vagus
nerves and the adrenal glands.

"Our study illustrated that electroacupuncture has neuroanatomic basis,
but its efficacy and safety on humans need to be validated in clinical
trials," Ma says. "There's still many questions unanswered about this
medical practice and thus a lot of room to do more research." The work
was supported by NIH grants, the Harvard/MIT Joint Research Program in
Basic Neuroscience, and the Wellcome Trust grant.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cell_Press. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Shenbin Liu, Zhi-Fu Wang, Yang-Shuai Su, Russell S. Ray, Xiang-Hong
Jing,
Yan-Qing Wang, Qiufu Ma. Somatotopic Organization and
Intensity Dependence in Driving Distinct NPY-Expressing
Sympathetic Pathways by Electroacupuncture. Neuron, 2020; DOI:
10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.015 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812115315.htm

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