Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

“Our studies of several classical acupoints indicate that acupuncture modulates the limbic network, an important intrinsic regulatory system of the human brain. The network shows significant overlap with the default mode of the resting brain. These associated autonomic nervous function changes can be demonstrated by physiological monitoring.”

J Vis Exp. 2010; (38): 1190.

Published online 2010 Apr 8. doi:  10.3791/1190

Electroacupuncture for Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

The participants in the EA group received EA treatment with a mixed current of 2 Hz/120 Hz at 12 acupuncture points (bilateral Zusanli [ST36], Xuanzhong [GB39], Yinlingquan [SP9], Sanyinjiao [SP6], Taichong [LR3], and Zulinqi [GB41]) twice per week for 8 weeks. Depending on the sites of pain, the additional acupuncture point Bafeng (EX-LE10) was available.

“To our knowledge, this is the first multicenter randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of EA treatment for the management in PDN. One limitation is that neither a placebo nor sham EA was used as an active control; therefore, the possibility of a placebo effect was not excluded. In conclusion, the results of this study
demonstrate that EA treatment is effective for reducing pain and improving sleep disturbance and quality of life in PDN. In addition, EA treatment was well tolerated and safe during this study. These findings suggest that EA treatment may be recommended as a nonpharmacological treatment for pain reduction in PDN.”

Electroacupuncture for Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Multicenter, Randomized, Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial

Diabetes Care 2018 Jul; dc181254.https://doi.org/10.2337/dc18-1254

Systematic review and meta‐analysis of acupuncture to reduce cancer‐related pain

First published: 07 February 2016

https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.12457

our findings support acupuncture as an effective treatment in alleviating pain among cancer patients and survivors, particularly malignancy-related and surgery-induced pain. To expand the application of acupuncture on cancer-related pain, investigators should clearly define the types of cancer pain (e.g. malignancy related pain) as inclusion criteria in the future studies.

Exploring spatial patterns of acupoint indications from clinical data

We found that each acupoint had a distinct spatial pattern of indications, and that the patterns were strongly associated with routes of the meridian.

Exploring spatial patterns of acupoint indications from clinical data: A STROBE-compliant article

Jung, Won-Mo KMD, MS; Lee, Soon-Ho KMD; Lee, Ye-Seul KMD, MPD; Chae, Younbyoung KMD, PhD^*

Section Editor(s): Hanaoka., Kazuo

Medicine: April 2017 – Volume 96 – Issue 17 – p e6768

doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000006768

Research Article: Observational Study

Abstract: Every acupoint has specific indications for acupuncture treatment. These indications, primarily established based on the meridian system, have spatial patterns of symptoms on the human body. We investigated the associations between acupoints and symptom locations in 75 patients with chronic pain who were asked to sketch the localization of their symptoms on body schemes using the bodily sensation map (BSM) system. Combining the BSM and clinical information, we estimated the statistical parameters of relationships between acupoints and spatial information on symptoms. We further visualized spatial patterns of indications of the representative acupoints on the human body template using a Z score. Using a statistical parametric map method, we observed significant activation patterns of 12 acupoint indications with spatial patterns. The 1st group of patterns was distant from the acupoint locus and was strongly associated with the route of the corresponding meridian. The 2nd group was found around the acupoint locus, the majority of which was located at the trunk or back areas. Intensive investigations of the spatial patterns of acupoint indications would be a novel paradigm to explain point specificity of acupuncture treatment based on the original concept of the meridian system. Future studies should include more meaningful clinical data with larger sample sizes.

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