Acupuncture Reduces Stress Hormone

Animal Research and Acupuncture: Stress Hormone Decrease

Rats benefited from acupuncture. By which we mean, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) recently published findings in the journal Endocrinology, giving strong evidence that when these animals were given acupuncture, the same biologic pathways affected by pain and stress were impacted by the procedure--in much the same way that drugs work on humans.

"This research, the culmination of a number of studies, demonstrates how acupuncture might work in the human body to reduce stress and pain, and, potentially, depression," said the lead author Ladan Eshkevari, an associate professor in nursing and pharmacology at GUMC, according to a release.

They learned that by applying electroacupuncture to a single but powerful acupuncture point, such as stomach meridian point 36 (St36), they were able to blunt activity in the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. This is the chronic stress pathway associated with chronic pain, the immune system, mood and emotions. Taking this action reduced production of stress hormones secreted by the pathway, the release said.

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