Acupuncture therapy for drug addiction

Abstract

Acupuncture therapy has been used to treat substance abuse. This study aims to review experimental studies examining the effects of acupuncture on addiction. Research and review articles on acupuncture treatment of substance abuse published between January 2000 and September 2014 were searched using the databases ISI Web of Science Core Collection and EBSCO’s MEDLINE Complete. Clinical trial studies on the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for substance abuse were classified according to substance (cocaine, opioid, nicotine, and alcohol), and their treatment protocols, assessments, and findings were examined. A total of 119 studies were identified, of which 85 research articles addressed the efficacy of acupuncture for treating addiction. There were substantial variations in study protocols, particularly regarding treatment duration, frequency of electroacupuncture, duration of stimulation, and choice of acupoints. Contradictory results, intergroup differences, variation in sample sizes, and acupuncture placebo effects made it difficult to evaluate acupuncture effectiveness in drug addiction treatment. This review also identified a lack of rigorous study design, such as control of confounding variables by incorporating sham controls, sufficient sample sizes, reliable assessments, and adequately replicated experiments.

Acupuncture for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Meta‐Analysis

“…A five-point auricular protocol was developed by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association in the 1980s, and a body point electrical stimulation protocol was designed by a Chinese doctor in the 1990s [ 7 ]. Researchers have attempted to elucidate the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on reducing addiction-related symptoms and regulating brain dysfunction using various treatment protocols [ 8 , 9 ]. Despite methodological differences in acupuncture points, treatment durations, and types of control conditions among studies [ 9 ], a recent meta-analysis study demonstrated a significant beneficial effect of acupuncture on addiction-related clinical symptoms, such as withdrawal/craving and anxiety, with a medium to large effect size, although the data were heterogeneous and had a significant publication bias [ 8 ].…”

Effects of Electroacupuncture on Methamphetamine‐Induced Behavioral Changes in Mice

“…However, stimulation of PC6 can effectively treat Internet addiction [43] and alleviate the withdrawal syndrome of heroin addiction [44]; the acupoint is also involved in neurotransmitter regulation [45]. It seems compatible with the above description; ST36 has also been reported to influence opioid-induced addiction and side effects; however ST36 was not effective on the current METH study with no reports of the cocaine studies [46]. All the aforementioned findings suggest that acupuncture at specific acupoints, which regulate the dopaminergic pathway in the NAc, can be used for treating specific drug addictions.…”

“…In traditional Asian medicine, acupuncture is a popular nonpharmacological treatment option for drug addiction, such as that of alcohol, nicotine, and heroin [11, 46]. Acupuncture research is difficult because the accurate treatment duration, acupuncture frequency, duration of stimulation, acupoint and control selection, and sufficient sample size cannot be determined; thus, the effects of acupuncture therapy for drug addiction are controversial, particularly in clinical applications [7, 46, 57, 58].…”

“…Acupuncture research is difficult because the accurate treatment duration, acupuncture frequency, duration of stimulation, acupoint and control selection, and sufficient sample size cannot be determined; thus, the effects of acupuncture therapy for drug addiction are controversial, particularly in clinical applications [7, 46, 57, 58]. Nevertheless, the mechanism through which acupuncture alleviates drug addiction probably involves regulation of brain pathways and restoration of the unbalanced central neural pathways through the modulation of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and endogenous opioids [46, 47, 59, 60]. Hence, future studies must integrate these basic findings and determine clinical therapeutic effects of EA.…”

Acupuncture on the Stress‐Related Drug Relapse to Seeking

“…Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for reducing drug addiction in preclinical and clinical trials [ 5 ]. In particular, acupuncture has been accepted to be an effective detoxification method for drug addiction as a standard procedure [ 6 ].…”