A new study has come up with the result that acupuncture has the ability to release a natural painkiller, adenosine, in the body.
An article in a recent issue of Nature Neuroscience indicates that at least one of acupuncture’s reported benefits may finally have concrete support and a proposed mechanism of action thanks to laboratory experiments. Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, and the National Institute of Health report that a neuromodulator (a chemical agent secreted by neurons) called adenosine is the key to why acupuncture lessens pain associated with inflammation and chronic neuropathic problems.
These findings were interesting, and I'd like to see this study recreated on human subjects (instead of mice) to see the effects and what the differences, if any, there would be.
You can download a PDF or full text of the article on the Nature Neuroscience site. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this study!