how acupuncture works refs - acudox 2018

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info for obsessives

Some references for our section

"How Does Acupuncture Work?"

(a tiny sample of the published work)

Endorphins

Much pioneering research on acupuncture and endorphins was done by Prof Bruce Pomeranz and a great many research papaers have been published on this.

This work was well summarised by him in Clinical Acupuncture - Scientific Basis Springer 2001 Ch 1 which references 226 papers on the subject

Endorphins in anxiety & fertility

Int J Neurosci. 2006 Feb;116(2):115-25. The mechanism of acupuncture and clinical applications.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16393878 DOI: 10.1080/00207450500341472

See also: The role of acupuncture in the management of subfertility. Fertil Steril. 2008 Jul;90(1):1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.02.094

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18440533

"The positive effect of acupuncture in the treatment of subfertility may be related to the central sympathetic inhibition by the endorphin system, the change in uterine blood flow and motility, and stress reduction. ":

Adenosine & other mechanisms

A detailed analysis of the role of adenosine in acupuncture pain relief published in a pre-eminent peer-reviewed journal is in:

Nature Neuroscience Vol 13 Number 7 July 2010 doi: 10.1038/nn2562 (subscription needed)

the authors conclude: “Our findings indicate that adenosine is central to the mechanistic actions of acupuncture”

Response to trauma & growth factors

various studies have shown that repair and growth factors are released in response to acupuncture stimulation. The one referred to here is:

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/20/12/4615

Blood flow increases in response to acupuncture

see, for example: Changes in Local Blood Flow in response to Acupuncture Stimulation - a systematic review.

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9874207

Mechanisms of acupuncture in reproductive medicine see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20350839

DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2010.03.006

Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertile women with electro-acupuncture., see: Human Reproduction: 1996 Jun;11(6):1314-7.

Autonomic regulation by acupuncture

For a review of evidence see Acupuncture Effect and Central Autonomic Regulation in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 267959,http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/267959

Brain Responses to Acupuncture

Immune Responses to Acupuncture

Immune function benefit in Cancer care see: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014, Article ID 217397, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/217397