How does acupuncture relieve stress (Western explanation)

[Guest guest]

Speaking of stress, I know those last few days have been stressful for

me, reading the posts. Ouch! Seems like harmony is gradually being

restored. Rachel is gone, I believe.

I write a newsletter for interested parties (basically, anyone whose

e-mail address I get that lives in my county) and try to explain TCM

ideas. This newsletter will be about stress. Biomedically speaking,

stress is related to elevated catecholamine levels (adrenalin,

noradrenalin, dopamine) and cortisol levels. However, I can't find any

incident of an altered hormonal profile (with these neurotransmittors)

on Pub Med, except for cortisol. In fact, it looks like catecholamines

don't change.

We know endomorphins are altered, but that doesn't really explain to

the general public how acupuncture relieves stress-or does it?

Any ideas? Phil, I know you love to trawl the web. Can you find

something for me?

By the way, I'm not necessarily in favor of tons of more Western

medical courses either, but I know when I say " liver qi stagnation " to

a prospective patient, they tend to look confused.

 

Gabrielle

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

As regards is role in stress management (a VERY broad term!)

acupuncture has many mechanisms / mediators apart from modulation

of the the body's opiate system.

 

See http://tinyurl.com/baphc for Medline hits for the search profile:

(acupuncture OR electroacup* OR acupoint* OR moxibustion) AND

(stress OR anti-stress)

 

See http://tinyurl.com/9arl8 for Medline hits for the search profile:

Review AND (acupuncture OR electroacup* OR acupoint* OR

moxibustion) AND (neuroendocrin* OR neuro-endocrin* OR endocrin*

OR cerebr* OR hypothala* OR humoral OR periaquad* OR thalam* OR

hormon* OR neurotrans*) AND (modulat* OR mechanism* OR effects)

 

See especially:

 

Ma SX (2004) Neurobiology of Acupuncture: Toward CAM. Evid Based

Complement Alternat Med. Jun 1;1(1):41-47. Departments of Obstetrics

and Gynecology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of

Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles, Torrance, CA, USA.

It has long been accepted that acupuncture, puncturing and scraping

needles at certain points on the body, can have analgesic and

anesthetic effects, as well as therapeutic effects in the treatment of

various diseases. This therapy, including acupuncture anesthesia, has

drawn the attention of many investigators and become a research

subject of international interest around the world. Numerous studies

have demonstrated that the nervous system, neurotransmitters,

endogenous substances and Jingluo (meridians) may respond to

needling stimulation and electrical acupuncture. An abundance of

information has now accumulated concerning the neurobiological

mechanisms of acupuncture, in relation to both neural pathways and

neurotransmitters/hormonal factors that mediate autonomic regulation,

pain relief and other therapeutics. Early studies demonstrated that the

analgesic effects of electroacupuncture (EA) are mediated by opioid

peptides in the periaqueductal gray. Recent evidence shows that nitric

oxide plays an important role in mediating the cardiovascular responses

to EA stimulation through the gracile nucleus-thalamic pathway. Other

substances, including serotonin, catecholamines, inorganic chemicals

and amino acids such as glutamate and alpha-aminobutyric acid

(GABA), are proposed to mediate certain cardiovascular and analgesic

effects of acupuncture, but at present their role is poorly understood.

The increased interest in acupuncture health care has led to an ever-

growing number of investigators pursuing research in the processes of

the sense of needling touch, transduction of needling stimulation

signals, stimulation parameters and placebos. In this Review, the

evidence and understanding of the neurobiological processes of

acupuncture research have been summarized with an emphasis on

recent developments of nitric oxide mediating acupuncture signals

through the dorsal medulla-thalamic pathways. PMID: 15257325

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

The FULL-TEXT of that article is at http://tinyurl.com/8mszv

 

Best regards,

 

HOME + WORK: 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Tel: (H): +353-(0) or (M): +353-(0)

<

 

 

 

" Man who says it can't be done should not interrupt man doing it " -

Chinese Proverb