A. Abstract
- This review reports on recent findings concerning the effects of acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA) on stem cell mobilization and differentiation, in particular with regard to neurogenesis.
- Traditional Chinese acupuncture has a history of over 2,500 years and is becoming more popular worldwide.
- Evidence has demonstrated that acupuncture may be of benefit in stroke rehabilitation, parkinsonism, dementia, and depression. This article reviews recent studies concerning the effects of acupuncture/EA on stem cell mobilization and on progenitor cell proliferation in the CNS.
- The reviewed evidence indicates that acupuncture/EA has beneficial effects in several neurodegenerative diseases, and it may prove to be a nondrug method for mobilizing stem cells in the CNS.
B. Acupuncture and Electroacupuncture (EA)
- Traditional Chinese acupuncture has a history of over 2,500 years and is becoming more popular worldwide.
- Notably, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a guidance on the efficacy of acupuncture in the cure or relief of 64 different clinical conditions, such as chronic pain of the locomotor system, headache, hemiplegia, and other sequelae of brain diseases, depression, nausea, and vomiting, among others (78).
- Acupuncture therapy uses two different strategies: manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA). EA is a modified form of the traditional MA. Nowadays, most studies use EA, since it is possible to standardize this method by frequency, voltage, waveform, length, etc. (39).
C. The Mechanism of Acupuncture/EA
How can acupuncture provide beneficial effects in neurodegenerative diseases? One hypothesis is that acupuncture is able to mobilize regenerative stem cells. This article reviews recent studies concerning the effects of acupuncture/EA on stem cell mobilization and on progenitor cell proliferation in CNS as shown in Table 1.
D. Conclusion
- This review of the evidence has shown that acupuncture/EA results in beneficial effects in animal models of AD, depression, spinal cord injury, and stroke and that these effects may, at least in part, be associated with progenitor cell proliferation or stem cell mobilization in the central nervous system (CNS).
- EA also results in the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of proliferated surviving cells in the dentate gyrus in neonatal rats. It is postulated that acupuncture/EA may have the potential to cause stem cell mobilization in humans.
- The studies reviewed in this article indicate that acupuncture/EA has beneficial effects in neurodegenerative disease and may be a nondrug method for mobilizing stem cells in the CNS. However, it remains unclear as to how acupuncture/EA exerts these effects. Moreover, the parameters of EA have not been systemically studied, that is, the optimal acupoints and optimal treatment schedule, such as treatment frequency and duration. These issues need to be clarified.
E. Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a NSC 101-2320-B-039-035-MY3 grant from the National Science Council, Taipei, Taiwan. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
(source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3727/096368914X678463)
first published by Tsung-Jung Ho, Tzu-Min Chan, Li-Ing Ho, Ching-Yuan Lai, Chia-Hsien Lin, Iona Macdonald, Horng-Jyh Harn, Jaung-Geng Lin, Shinn-Zong Lin, M.D., Ph.D., Yi-Hung Chen, Ph.D., on May 1st, 2014