Shin Hwa Kyoung, Lee Sae-Won, Choi Byung Tae
Department of Korean Medical Science, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea; Graduate Training Program of Korean Medicine for Healthy-aging, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea; Korean Medical Science Research Center for Healthy Aging, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea; Division of Meridian and Structural Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea.
Department of Korean Medical Science, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea; Graduate Training Program of Korean Medicine for Healthy-aging, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2017 Oct 1;141:132-142. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2017.04.029. Epub 2017 Apr 29.
Acupuncture is one of the main healing arts in Oriental medicine. It has long been used in East Asian countries, including Korea and China, and is thought to be an effective alternative treatment for various neurological diseases. The therapeutic effects of acupuncture come from inserting a needle at specific acupoints on the body surface, with subsequent delivery of stimulation via manual rotation or electric pulses (electroacupuncture, EA). In various neurological disease models, peripheral nerve stimulation using acupuncture or EA may have protective effects on neural tissues by increasing expression of neurotrophic factors (NTFs), such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial-derived neurotrophic factor, in the central nervous system, especially the brain. In addition, acupuncture may contribute to recovery from functional impairments following brain damage by encouraging neural stem cell proliferation, which is active at the initial stage of injury, and by further facilitating differentiation. Hence, acupuncture may act as a stimulator activating peripheral nerves at specific acupoints and inducing the expression of various NTFs in the brain. Subsequently, NTFs induced by this treatment trigger autocrine or paracrine signaling, which stimulates adult neurogenesis, thereby exerting therapeutic effects on functional impairments in neurological diseases. Acupuncture may offer an alternative treatment that promotes adult neurogenesis through the expression of NTFs in the brain. It may also have synergistic effects when combined with pharmacological interventions, again facilitating neurogenesis. This review examines recent studies concerning the effects of acupuncture and EA on adult neurogenesis associated with NTF expression in neurological diseases, in particular stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.
针灸是东方医学的主要治疗方法之一。它在包括韩国和中国在内的东亚国家长期使用，并且被认为是治疗各种神经疾病的一种有效替代疗法。针灸的治疗效果源于将针插入身体表面的特定穴位，随后通过手动旋转或电脉冲（电针，EA）施加刺激。在各种神经疾病模型中，使用针灸或电针进行外周神经刺激可能通过增加神经营养因子（NTFs）的表达对神经组织产生保护作用，这些神经营养因子如脑源性神经营养因子和胶质细胞源性神经营养因子，在中枢神经系统尤其是大脑中。此外，针灸可能通过促进神经干细胞增殖（在损伤初期活跃）以及进一步促进分化，有助于脑损伤后功能障碍的恢复。因此，针灸可能作为一种刺激物，激活特定穴位的外周神经并诱导大脑中各种NTFs的表达。随后，这种治疗诱导的NTFs触发自分泌或旁分泌信号传导，刺激成体神经发生，从而对神经疾病中的功能障碍发挥治疗作用。针灸可能提供一种通过大脑中NTFs的表达促进成体神经发生的替代治疗方法。当与药物干预联合使用时，它可能也具有协同作用，同样促进神经发生。本综述研究了关于针灸和电针在神经疾病（特别是中风、阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病）中对与NTF表达相关的成体神经发生影响的近期研究。
