Acupuncture has been shown to improve symptoms of
multiple sclerosis or even helped a patient remission for over 2 years in a
case study reported here before. However the mechanism of acupuncture’s effect
is not clear. Recently it was reported that anti-inflammatory effect of
acupuncture was associated with the release of β-endorphin that balances immune
cell response in a multiple sclerosis model.
Multiple sclerosis is caused by the dysfunction of immune
system that attacks the myelin sheath of nerve fibre in the nervous systems
leading to the symptoms occurring in multi body systems. It is believed that
acupuncture therapy is able to modulate immune responses to relieve the
symptoms. However the mechanism of its action is not clear.
Researchers in China conducted a basic research to
explore the possible mechanism of acupuncture on a model of multiple sclerosis.
They found that β-endorphin, a neuropeptide with immune modulatory and
analgesic properties, was significantly reduced in the multiple sclerosis
models. Acupuncture stimulation in the model once a day for 21 days attenuated
the symptom-like severity and reversed the decreased β-endorphin levels and increased
the levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone in the brain. Further studies found
that β-endorphin modulated the abnormal ratios of immune T subtype cells back
to normal levels in the lymphocytes.
Authors suggest that acupuncture stimulation in the multiple
sclerosis model increased β-endorphin expression and adrenocorticotropic
hormone level leading to rebalance immune T cells response and attenuated the
symptoms.
Reference:
Liu Y et al., The mechanism of effective electroacupuncture on T cell
response in rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. PLoS One.
2013;8(1):e51573.
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