Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, 103 Garland Street, Everett, MA 02149, USA. E-
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Mar;6(1):31-9. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem122. Epub 2007 Nov 21.
The biological effects of acupuncture include the regulation of a variety of neurohumoral factors and growth control factors. In science, models or hypotheses with confirmed predictions are considered more convincing than models solely based on retrospective explanations. Literature review showed that two biological models of acupuncture have been prospectively tested with independently confirmed predictions: The neurophysiology model on the long-term effects of acupuncture emphasizes the trophic and anti-inflammatory effects of acupuncture. Its prediction on the peripheral effect of endorphin in acupuncture has been confirmed. The growth control model encompasses the neurophysiology model and suggests that a macroscopic growth control system originates from a network of organizers in embryogenesis. The activity of the growth control system is important in the formation, maintenance and regulation of all the physiological systems. Several phenomena of acupuncture such as the distribution of auricular acupuncture points, the long-term effects of acupuncture and the effect of multimodal non-specific stimulation at acupuncture points are consistent with the growth control model. The following predictions of the growth control model have been independently confirmed by research results in both acupuncture and conventional biomedical sciences: (i) Acupuncture has extensive growth control effects. (ii) Singular point and separatrix exist in morphogenesis. (iii) Organizers have high electric conductance, high current density and high density of gap junctions. (iv) A high density of gap junctions is distributed as separatrices or boundaries at body surface after early embryogenesis. (v) Many acupuncture points are located at transition points or boundaries between different body domains or muscles, coinciding with the connective tissue planes. (vi) Some morphogens and organizers continue to function after embryogenesis. Current acupuncture research suggests a convergence of the neurophysiology model, the connective tissue model and the growth control model. The growth control model of acupuncture set the first example of a biological model in integrative medicine with significant prediction power.
针灸的生物学效应包括调节多种神经体液因子和生长调控因子。在科学中，具有已证实预测的模型或假说比仅基于回顾性解释的模型更具说服力。文献回顾表明，已有两个针灸生物学模型经过前瞻性检验并得到了独立证实的预测：强调针灸长期效应的神经生理学模型侧重于针灸的营养和抗炎作用。其关于针灸内啡肽外周效应的预测已得到证实。生长调控模型包含了神经生理学模型，并提出一个宏观的生长调控系统源于胚胎发生中组织者网络。生长调控系统的活性在所有生理系统的形成、维持和调节中都很重要。针灸的几个现象，如耳穴的分布、针灸的长期效应和穴位多模态非特异性刺激的效应，与生长调控模型一致。生长调控模型的以下预测已被针灸和常规生物医学科学的研究结果独立证实：（i）针灸具有广泛的生长调控作用。（ii）形态发生中存在奇点和分隔线。（iii）组织者具有高电导、高电流密度和高间隙连接密度。（iv）早期胚胎发生后，高间隙连接密度作为分隔线或边界分布在体表。（v）许多穴位位于不同身体区域或肌肉之间的过渡点或边界处，与结缔组织平面重合。（vi）一些形态发生素和组织者在胚胎发生后继续发挥作用。目前的针灸研究表明，神经生理学模型、结缔组织模型和生长调控模型趋于融合。针灸的生长调控模型开创了具有显著预测能力的整合医学中生物学模型的先河。
