Acupuncture vs. Cytokine Storm
By LI Zheng, Edited by Yasmine Owen
Why do immunocompromised individuals suffering from conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity not cope well with Covid-19? Why do certain people develop the cytokine storm when they are exposed to Covid-19? The key to these answers is immune function balance. In a balanced immune system, cytokines are necessary inflammatory proteins that help to fight off infections. However, when an immunocompromised body is overwhelmed with a virus or invasion of bacteria, an abnormal immune reaction may release too many cytokines, which can make the individual even more ill.
This overreactive immune response can destroy our vital organs and systems such as the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. Coffee, energy drinks, alcohol, and spicy food are inflammatory agents. When these are consumed excessively, they can overstimulate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response), and this overstimulation has the potential to compromise the immune system. By balancing the nervous system with acupuncture, a healthy diet, and lifestyle, the body’s inflammation can be controlled.
Dr. Ma from Harvard Medical School recently published new research explaining how electrical acupuncture can prevent the cytokine storm by modulating the vagus-adrenal connection, which controls the fight or flight hormones. To examine the relationship between the nervous and immune systems, Dr. Ma’s research team used a novel genetic tool to eliminate certain neuroendocrine cells known as Chromaffin cells in the adrenal gland. In an acute stress response such as in a car accident, chromaffin cells produce fight or flight chemicals including norepinephrine. Without these cells, the body will respond adversely to inflammation because the fight or flight hormones are key regulators for inflammation.
Dr. Ma’s team applied low-intensity electroacupuncture (0.5 milliamperes) to a specific point on the hind legs of mice experiencing a life-threatening cytokine storm induced by bacterial toxins. The electrical stimulation (ES) activated the mice’s vagus nerve (an important parasympathetic nerve which controls our circulatory and digestive functions as well as sleep). The vagus nerve stimulates the adrenal gland to produce dopamine from fight or flight hormone production cells.
Interestingly, the mice that experienced electrical acupuncture had a 60% survival rate, compared with a 20% survival rate of untreated mice. However, location is key; when the electrical stimulation was applied to abdominal acupuncture points, the vagus-adrenal axis did not improve the anti-inflammatory response or survival rate in mice.
This research team also used high-intensity electroacupuncture (3-milliamperes) to the same hind leg acupoint in mice with sepsis to see how mice responded to the stimulation. The high-intensity electroacupuncture activated nervous fibers in the spleen, which produces noradrenaline, one of the fight or flight hormones. When Dr. MA’s team applied high-intensity electrical acupuncture to mice before they developed cytokine storm, the mice had lower levels of inflammation and recovered faster after the cytokine storm was induced.
The high-intensity electrical acupuncture applied before experiencing the cytokine storm can increase the survival rate from 20 to 80%. On the other hand, when the high-intensity ES was applied after the inflammation started and during the peak of the cytokine storm, the mice developed increased inflammation and more severe disease. This highlights that both timing and acupoint location are essential in delivering beneficial results from electroacupuncture.
Intensity is also an important factor in proper Electrical acupuncture administration. For example, low-intensity ES is generally used to help people relax and balance their nervous and immune functions, whereas high-intensity ES may only be beneficial when people are in a true weak condition. That is why people with high stress need to use the right modality of acupuncture to balance their immune function and nervous system to control the inflammation appropriately.
Research has indicated that the right modality of Electrical acupuncture can be used to control inflammation due to many health problems such as sepsis, arthritis, cystitis, IBS, colitis, and Crohn’s disease. Electrical acupuncture could be applied to cancer patients going through immune therapy, potentially helping them prevent cytokine storm due to overstimulation of the immune system during cancer treatment. Acupuncture, meditation, and Chinese herbs can help people maintain a balanced physiological condition during stressful times, such as during our current pandemic.
