Acupuncture’s Pain-Blunting Mechanism Revealed

University of Rochester Medical Center (New York, USA) researchers have revealed the molecular mechanism by which acupuncture eases the perception of pain. Studying an animal model in which pain was simulated, Nanna Goldman and colleagues observed that acupuncture releases the molecule known as adenosine, a neuromodulator with anti-pain perception properties.  The team observed that tissue that surrounded the acupuncture points had a 24-fold surge in adenosine levels, which resulted in a 2/3 reduction in pain perception. They conclude that: “These observations indicate that adenosine mediates the effects of acupuncture and that interfering with adenosine metabolism may prolong the clinical benefit of acupuncture.”