Abstract:
Acupuncture therapy is effective in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and has its own unique advantages. In the present paper, we reviewed the progress of experimental researches on the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture treatment of CFS in recent 10 years from: 1) regulating the immune system including the peripheral immune organ, immune cells and immune cytokines, proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and lowering the increase of positive rate of multiple mycoplasma infection; 2) regulating the neuroendocrine system including the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and stress hormones, monoamine neurotransmitters, and opioid peptides; 3)raising the anti- oxidative stress ability by reducing malondiadehyde, and upregulating activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase; and 4) regulating multiple cellular molecule signaling pathways revealed by genomic and proteomic technologies. In conclusion, acupuncture can relieve CFS through multiple ways and systems, which may provide some ideas for further studies on the biological mechanisms.
Source: Li YH, Ma QL, Hu B, Wang ZL. [Current state about researches on selection of experimental indexs mechanisms of acupuncture underlying improvement of chronic fatigue syndrome]. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2021 Nov 25;46(11):980-4. Chinese. doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.200998. PMID: 34865338. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34865338/ (Abstract in English, Chinese)