Adenosine A1 receptors mediate local antinociceptive effects of acupuncture - Essay Example

One of the major reasons for the reluctance in accepting acupuncture in western medical fraternity is lack of understanding on how the method works in the body to alleviate pain and inability to demonstrate its biological foundation in experiments. In order to explain the biological mechanisms of acupuncture, the article examines the effect of subjecting adult mice to the procedure. The experiment investigates effects of acupuncture on production of Adenosine Tri phosphate (ATP) metabolites and adenosine.

According to the authors, production of ATP in the body is triggered by mechanical or electrical stimulation. Upon its release, ATP acts as transmitter and it is later degraded into adenosine. Adenosine acts as the pain suppressant following mechanical or electrical stimulation of the body. In the experiment, the authors sought to investigate whether adenosine participates in the anti-nociceptive effects of acupuncture by examining changes in its concentration when a mouse is placed under the acupuncture process.

Then the authors investigated the effectiveness of acupuncture in reducing pain in presence of A1 receptors (Nanna, et al, 2010, p 883). The results from the experiment indicated that the concentration of adenosine increased explosively by approximately 24 times of the initial content during the entire period of half an hour when acupuncture was being administered. After the process the concentration of ATP reverted to its original concentration but that of adenosine remained considerably high.

Acupuncture failed to eradicate pain in mice without adenosine A1 receptors. In conclusion, the experiment proved that adenosine functions in acupuncture mediated antinociceptive effects of inflammatory in models of inflammation and neuropathic pain (Nanna, et al, 2010, p 886). One of the major implications of these findings will be a renewed interest in acupuncture that could eventually result to the method being accepted the mainstream medical practice. Critical appraisal of the article The article highlights several important and new findings.

For a long time, the location of acupuncture points in the body has been a major mystery to neuroscientists and other researchers investigating the mechanisms of the method. According to WHO (2002, p 38), distribution of acupuncture points varies significantly from those of sensory, circulatory, lymphatic and other coordinative tissues. However, WHO (2002, p 73) notes that the auricle has the highest concentration of acupuncture points in the human body. In this experiment, the authors indicate that distribution of acupuncture points is localized in the limbs of the rodent, a finding that could stimulate increased acupuncture procedures in the limbs of human body.

It has also been observed that momentary acupuncture stimulation produces long lasting effects that could last for over a month. Several randomised controlled trials in acupuncture therapy have demonstrated that relief from migraine lasted about twelve months after acupuncture therapy (Schachter, 2002, p14). Other long lasting relief for body pains after acupuncture treatment have been recorded. These include persistent pain on the lower back, injuries of the spine, osteoarthritis in addition to dysmerrohea (Carlsson, 2002, p 80).

However, in this article, the experiment using mice indicates that the lasting effects of acupuncture could be manipulated, resulting to shorter durations of the therapeutic effect. The article offers a new logical explanation as to why the patients do not experience pain sensation during acupuncture thera