Abstract
Acupuncture, a complementary therapy originated in China over 3000 years ago, is widely practiced in western countries. There is an urgent need to define the mechanisms underlying some clinical effects obtained by acupuncture. A placebo effect is sustained by neuroimaging evidence indicating the activation of areas in the brain that are involved in expectation after real and sham acupuncture. However, only real acupuncture modulates the activity of specific regions in the brain some of which involved in the perception of pain. Basic research applied to the field of acupuncture is beginning to offer a scientific interpretation to these events. Indeed, the stimulation of acupoints alters the architecture of the connective tissue and this local mechanical stress is delivered to the keratinocytes, mast cells and fibroblasts, which react in several manners, including the release of various molecules that act on peripheral nerve endings. Consequently, locally generated signals can be transmitted to the neural centers. In the light of these achievements and urging more research in the field, it can be concluded that there are common denominators between acupuncture and western medicine.
Highlights
The Jesuit missionaries, who introduced acupuncture in France in the 16th century, would be astonished by the spreading of this age-old healing practice in Europe and in the New World
Since 1997 the National Institute of Health has documented the efficacy of this form of alternative medicine in several conditions, primarily for its analgesic effects, so that acupuncture is used in pain clinics and hospices world- wide [1,2]
The size and the shape of the electrodes and other technical cues might complicate the interpretation of the results [20]. In spite of these inconclusive evidences, it should be recalled that modern imaging techniques, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and positron emission tomography (PET), indicate that acupuncture modulates brain activity
Summary
The Jesuit missionaries, who introduced acupuncture in France in the 16th century, would be astonished by the spreading of this age-old healing practice in Europe and in the New World. Since 1997 the National Institute of Health has documented the efficacy of this form of alternative medicine in several conditions, primarily for its analgesic effects, so that acupuncture is used in pain clinics and hospices world- wide [1,2]. In the treatment of chronic low back pain, real or sham (nonspecific, placebo) acupuncture demonstrates higher rates of improvement than with conventional therapies [4]. Back in 1998, Dr Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, wrote that “there cannot be two kinds of medicine-conventional and alternative. The study of acupuncture has offered new insights into biomedicine [8]
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