Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have shown that targeting acupuncture points can stimulate vasodilation.
According to modern concepts, acupuncture dates back to the Neolithic. This practice of traditional medicine involves the impact of special needles on points located on the meridians - the lines of the body, along which the "vital energy" of qi is supposedly circulating. The introduction of needles into tissues and manipulations with them (rotation, pressure, heating, cooling) are designed to provide a therapeutic and analgesic effect. Now the method is widespread in China and, under certain conditions, is allowed for use by the authorities of a number of other countries, for example, Great Britain. However, its effectiveness remains in doubt. For example, a 2016 review showed that acupuncture is no better than a placebo.
It is curious that many acupuncture points are localized in accordance with the accumulations of nerve fibers, blood vessels, hair follicles and sebaceous glands. The combination of the method with moxibustion, in turn, leads to a sharp release of nitric oxide in the skin, which is associated with relaxation of the vascular musculature (vasodilation) and an increase in the immunoreactivity of nitric oxide synthases (enzymes that accelerate the production of the compound). However, until now, the biochemical effects of acupuncture have not been compared to control body sites. The authors of the new article assessed the link between acupuncture and nitric oxide levels at points, meridians, and neutral areas.
Acupuncture points of the pericardial (PC) and lung (LU) meridians. Designations WO correspond to the areas of meridians without acupuncture points, C - control areas / & copy; Sheng-Xing Ma et al., Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017
25 healthy men and women aged 18-60 took part in the work. The object of the study was the meridians of the lungs and pericardium, located on the forearm. During the procedure, the subjects were injected with needles into one of the hands into acupuncture points (PC4 – PC6) and rotated until a specific sensation of moderate numbness or pain (de qi) was felt. The meridian of the lungs was heated to 43–44 degrees Celsius without mechanical action. Then the scientists measured the level of nitric oxide in acupuncture points, as well as in areas located on the meridian, but not activated, and neutral areas. The data obtained were compared with baseline NO values from 12 volunteers.
The analysis showed that the level of nitric oxide metabolites in acupuncture points immediately after acupuncture was almost twice the values of the control sites. After 20 minutes, the trend weakened and was the least pronounced for areas outside the meridians. A similar effect was observed for thermal stimulation: the content of nitric oxide in heated acupuncture points was significantly higher than in other areas on the meridian. At the same time, with respect to points outside the meridian, such processing did not reveal significant differences. According to the authors, the study shows for the first time a correlation between increased NO production and mechanical and thermal effects on acupuncture points.
Thus, acupuncture appears to have vasodilating properties and improve blood flow, which could theoretically be accompanied by therapeutic effects. The exact mechanism, long-term and systemic consequences of the phenomenon, however, remain unclear and require further study.
The article was published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
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