Acupuncture has recently been attracting more and more people throughout the world as an alternative treatment, however little is known about its physiological activities (i.e. immune system). We examined acupuncture both quantitatively and qualitatively by measuring CD-positive cell counts and cytokine expression levels in the blood, to determine the activity of T cells, B cells, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells. Fifteen milliliters of peripheral blood obtained from 17 healthy volunteers aged 21–51 years, were analyzed using flow cytometry before and after acupuncture treatment. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD2+, CD4+, CD8+, CD11b+, CD16+, CD19+, CD56+ cells as well as IL-4, IL-1β and IFN-γ levels in the cells after acupuncture stimulation of meridian points. These observations indicate that acupuncture may regulate the immune system and promote the activities of humoral and cellular immunity as well as NK cell activity. In this article, we discussed how acupuncture regulated leukocyte numbers and functions since they are considered to be potential indicators for evaluating complementary and alternative medicine.

Abstract. The mechanisms of action of acupuncture and moxibustion as reported by Japanese researchers are reviewed. The endogenous opioid-mediated mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) as used in China are well understood, but these are only one component of all mechanisms of acupuncture. These studies emphasize the similarity of the analgesic action of EA to various sensory inputs to the pain inhibition mechanisms. In Japanese acupuncture therapy, careful detection of the acupuncture points and fine needling technique with comfortable subjective sensation are considered important. The role of polymodal receptors (PMR) has been stressed based on the facts that PMRs are responsive to both acupuncture and moxibustion stimuli, thermal sensitivity is essential in moxibustion therapy, and the characteristics of acupuncture points and trigger points are similar to those of sensitized PMRs. Acupuncture and moxibustion are also known to affect neurons in the brain reward systems and blood flow in skin, muscle, and nerve. Axon reflexes mediated by PMRs might be a possible mechanism for the immediate action of acupuncture and moxibustion. Reports on the curative effects of acupuncture on various digestive and urological disorders are also reviewed briefly.

No abstract

Transcutaneous pressure with pressure probes of arbitrary diameters have been commonly used for measuring the threshold and magnitude of muscle pain, yet this procedure lacks scientific validation. To examine the valid probe dimensions, we conducted physiological experiments using 34 human subjects. Pin-prick pain, pressure pain threshold (PPT) to pressure probes of various diameters, heat pain threshold, and electrical pain threshold of deep tissues were measured before and after application of surface lidocaine anesthesia to the skin surface over the brachioradial muscle in a double-blinded manner. The anesthesia neither affected PPT with larger probes (diameters: 1.6 and 15 mm) nor increased electric pain threshold of deep structures, whereas it diminished pain count in pin-prick test and PPT with a 1.0 mm diameter probe, suggesting that mechanical pain thresholds measured with 1.6 and 15 mm probes reflect the pain threshold of deep tissues, possibly muscle. Pain thresholds to heat did not change after application of the anesthesia. These results suggest that larger pressure probes can give a better estimation of muscular pain threshold.

Scientific bases for the mechanism of action of acupuncture in the treatment of pain and the pathogenic mechanism of acupuncture points are briefly summarized. The efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy is discussed based on the results of German clinical trials. A conclusion on the role for acupuncture in the treatment of psychogenic disorders could not be reached.