Andersson S, Lundeberg T
Department of Physiology, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
Med Hypotheses. 1995 Sep;45(3):271-81. doi: 10.1016/0306-9877(95)90117-5.
Acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a system with an empirical basis which has been used in the treatment and prevention of disease for centuries. A lack of scientific studies to prove or disprove its claimed effects led to rejection by many of the western scientific community. Now that the mechanisms can be partly explained in terms of endogenous pain inhibitory systems, the integration of acupuncture with conventional medicine may be possible. Its use for pain relief has been supported by clinical trials and this has facilitated its acceptance in pain clinics in most countries. Acupuncture effects must devolve from physiological and/or psychological mechanisms with biological foundations, and needle stimulation could represent the artificial activation of systems obtained by natural biological effects in functional situations. Acupuncture and some other forms of sensory stimulation elicit similar effects in man and other mammals, suggesting that they bring about fundamental physiological changes. Acupuncture excites receptors or nerve fibres in the stimulated tissue which are also physiologically activated by strong muscle contractions and the effects on certain organ functions are similar to those obtained by protracted exercise. Both exercise and acupuncture produce rhythmic discharges in nerve fibres, and cause the release of endogenous opioids and oxytocin essential to the induction of functional changes in different organ systems. Beta-endorphin levels, important in pain control as well as in the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature, have been observed to rise in the brain tissue of animals after both acupuncture and strong exercise. Experimental and clinical evidence suggest that acupuncture may affect the sympathetic system via mechanisms at the hypothalamic and brainstem levels, and that the hypothalamic beta-endorphinergic system has inhibitory effects on the vasomotorcenter, VMC. Post-stimulatory sympathetic inhibition which proceeds to a maximum after a few hours and can be sustained for more than 12 hours, has been demonstrated in both man and animals. Experimental and clinical studies suggest that afferent input in somatic nerve fibres has a significant effect on autonomic functions. Hypothetically, the physiological counterpart lies in physical exercise, and the effect can be artificially reproduced via various types of electrical or manual stimulation of certain nerve fibres.
针灸是传统中医的一部分，这是一个有着经验基础的体系，数百年来一直被用于疾病的治疗和预防。由于缺乏科学研究来证实或反驳其宣称的疗效，针灸遭到了许多西方科学界人士的排斥。如今，鉴于其机制可以部分地用内源性疼痛抑制系统来解释，针灸与传统医学的整合或许成为可能。其用于缓解疼痛已得到临床试验的支持，这推动了它在大多数国家的疼痛诊所被接受。针灸的效果必定源自具有生物学基础的生理和/或心理机制，针刺刺激可能代表着在功能状态下对通过自然生物学效应所获得的系统进行人工激活。针灸和其他一些形式的感觉刺激在人类和其他哺乳动物身上引发相似的效应，这表明它们会带来根本性的生理变化。针灸刺激受刺激组织中的受体或神经纤维，而这些受体或神经纤维在生理上也会因强烈的肌肉收缩而被激活，并且对某些器官功能的影响类似于长时间运动所产生的影响。运动和针灸都会在神经纤维中产生节律性放电，并促使内源性阿片类物质和催产素释放，而这些物质对于不同器官系统功能变化的诱导至关重要。在针灸和剧烈运动后，动物脑组织中的β-内啡肽水平都会升高，β-内啡肽在疼痛控制以及血压和体温调节方面都很重要。实验和临床证据表明，针灸可能通过下丘脑和脑干水平的机制影响交感神经系统，并且下丘脑β-内啡肽能系统对血管运动中枢（VMC）具有抑制作用。刺激后交感神经抑制在数小时后达到最大值，并可持续超过12小时，这在人类和动物身上都已得到证实。实验和临床研究表明，躯体神经纤维的传入输入对自主功能有显著影响。从理论上讲，其生理对应物在于体育锻炼，并且可以通过对某些神经纤维进行各种类型的电刺激或手动刺激来人为再现这种效果。
