Electroacupuncture and Nerve Growth Factor

Acupuncture is a therapeutic technique, part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Western description of the clinical efficacy of acupuncture on pain, inflammation, motor dysfunction, mood disorders, and seizures is based on the stimulation of several classes of sensory afferent fibres, and the consequent activation of physiological processes similar to those resulting from physical exercise or deep massage1. We have demonstrated that nerve growth factor (NGF) can be regulated at both central and peripheral level by electro-acupuncture (EA)2-11. The therapeutic value of NGF for central (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) diseases has been depicted, but the development of NGF-based therapies is hampered by the actual cost of the treatment and the hyperalgesia and pain associated to NGF administration12. Thus, there is a rationale for finding therapeutic strategies that modulate the synthesis/activation of endogenous NGF or reduce NGF-induced side effects. The aims of our research are to verify the hypothesis that sensory stimulation via EA can affect NGF content and/or activity in the CNS (link) and PNS (link) and to improve our comprehension of therapeutic mechanism(s) of acupuncture. These aims are being pursued investigating:

  • Neural afferent and efferent pathways stimulated by EA and related to NGF expression/activation in CNS and PNS.
  • Modulation of NGF signal transduction pathways following EA.
  • Gene and protein expression profiles, related to EA-mediated NGF modulation.
  • Therapeutic benefits of treatments with NGF and/or EA in animal models of peripheral neuropathies, CNS diseases, metabolic dysfunctions, infertility.

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