Discover how acupuncture relieves pain
Much has been investigated on the molecular effects of acupuncture to boost the impact of this treatment in modern medicine. Scientists have taken another important step toward understanding how the needles are placed in the body can relieve pain.
In an article published in Nature Neuroscience , a team from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York identified the molecule adenosine as a key player in some of the effects of acupuncture on the body. From that knowledge, scientists were able to triple the beneficial effects of acupuncture in mice by the addition of a drug approved to treat leukemia in people.
The research focuses on adenosine, a natural compound known for its role in sleep regulation, and its effects on heart, and anti-inflammatory properties. But adenosine also acts as a natural analgesic, becoming active in the skin after an injury to inhibit nerve signals and reduce pain in a manner similar to lidocaine.
In the current study, the scientists found that this chemical is also very active in the deeper tissues affected by acupuncture. The researchers examined the effects of acupuncture on the peripheral nervous system (nerves of our body that are not part of the brain) and spinal cord. Research shows that in the central nervous system, acupuncture creates signals that cause the brain to produce natural pain-relieving endorphins.
“Acupuncture has been a mainstay of medical treatment in certain parts of the world for 4,000 years, though not completely understood because many people have remained skeptical,” said Nedergaard, co-director of the Centre which conducted the research.
“In this paper, we provide information about a physical mechanism by which acupuncture reduces the pain in the body,” he added. To perform the experiment, the team performed acupuncture treatments in mice with a sore leg. The mice received an acupuncture treatment 30 minutes in a well-known acupuncture point near the knee, with very fine needles are gently turned every five minutes, just as in standard acupuncture treatments to people.
The team conducted a series of observations on the adenosine:
* In mice with normal levels of functioning of adenosine, acupuncture reduced the discomfort in two-thirds.
* In mutant mice lacking the adenosine receptors acupuncture had no effect.
* When adenosine was present in the tissues, the discomfort is reduced even without acupuncture.
* During and immediately after an acupuncture treatment, the level of adenosine in the tissues near the needle was 24 times greater than before treatment.
After recognizing the role of adenosine, the team investigated the effects of a cancer drug called desoxicoformicina, which hinders the removal of tissue adenosine. The compound promoted the effects of acupuncture treatment dramatically, almost tripling the accumulation of adenosine in the muscles and more than triple the time that treatment was effective.
