Potential role of acupuncture in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: A narrative review.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Park, Jaeyoung Oh, Ju-Young Park, Hi-Joon
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	BackgroundThe prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) has grown rapidly compared to that of other neurological disorders. Acupuncture has been used to address the complex symptoms of PD. Recently, similarities in the mechanisms of action between acupuncture and neuromodulation have received considerable attention. This review aims to summarize the evidence regarding these similarities to suggest potential role of acupuncture in the treatment of PD.MethodsThe literature from two electronic databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, was searched using the search terms 'Acupuncture', 'Parkinson's disease', 'Vagus nerve stimulation', and 'Brain functional connectivity'. We then explored the evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture in PD and evaluated the evidence for similarities in the mechanisms of action between acupuncture and neuromodulation.ResultsData suggests that acupuncture treatment is effective for PD symptoms by modulating inflammation and brain functional connectivity (BFC). These acupuncture effects have been shown to be similar to neuromodulation in controlling inflammation and BFC. Based on the shared mechanisms of action, potential acupuncture mechanisms that may ameliorate a wide range of PD symptoms include but are not limited to (1) vagal activation of the anti-inflammatory pathway and (2) BFC enhancement.ConclusionThe development of acupuncture strategies based on shared mechanisms with neuromodulation will provide new treatment options for patients with PD as personalized neuromodulating therapies. Further studies are needed to gather scientific evidence for optimizing parameters in PD patients.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC10238843&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	22134220
Journal	Integrative Medicine Research [Integr Med Res]
Volume Number	12
DOI	10.1016/j.imr.2023.100954
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10238843
Issue Number	2
PubMed reference number	37275921
e-ISSN	22134239
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Publisher Date	2023-05-11
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). © 2023 Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Subject Keyword	Parkinson's disease Acupuncture Vagus nerve stimulation Brain functional connectivity
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Complementary and Alternative Medicine