Lili Lin
Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China
Title: Acupuncture-induced analgesia: the role of microglial inhibition and purinergic receptors
Biography
Biography: Lili Lin
Abstract
The last three decades have accumulated preclinical and clinical evidences supporting the use of acupuncture in relieving symptoms of many diseases including allergy, infections, and neurological disorders. The advent of electroacupuncture has not only modernized the practice of acupuncture, but also has improved its efficacy especially for producing analgesic-like effects. Although the acupuncture-induced analgesia’s mechanism of action remains largely unknown, several lines of investigations have implicated modulation of pain processes via brain opioid signaling and neuroimmunoregulatory pathways. Here, we review key evidences supporting the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of acupuncture-induced analgesia. In particular, we discuss potent analgesic effects of acupuncture via neural-pain processes through inhibition of microglial activation. The safe and effective use of acupuncture stands as a non-pharmacologic alternative for induction of analgesia which has direct clinical applications for diseases associated with pain symptoms.