Science Behind Elecroacupuncture for Treating Shingles

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) or shingles, caused by caused by herpes zoster, causes nerve damage in the skin and results in abnormal electrical signals to the brain,  and may persist or recur for months, years or for life.

Electroacupuncture (EA) is effective in relieving pain in patients with PHN. Researchers in this study determined the beneficial effect of EA and the potential mechanisms in a rat model of PHN. They use our TRPV1 antibody to track expression in the Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) and Dorsal Horn (DH): Cai-hua Wu, Zheng-tao Lv, Yin Zhao, Yan Gao, Jia-qing Li, Fang Gao, Xian-fang Meng, Bo Tian, Jing Shi, Hui-lin Pan and Man Li. Electroacupuncture improves thermal and mechanical sensitivities in a rat model of postherpetic neuralgia. Molecular Pain 2013, 9:18 doi:10.1186/1744-8069-9-18


Conclusions: EA treatment improves thermal perception by recovering TRPV1-positive sensory neurons
and nerve terminals damaged by RTX. EA Also reduces RTX-induced tac tile allodynia by attenuating the damage of myelinated afferent nerves and their abnormal sprouting into the spinal lamina II. Our study provides new information about the mechanisms of the therapeutic actions of EA in the treatment of PHN.

Figure 2:  Effect of EA on RTX-induced deletion of TRPV1-immunoreactive neuron s in the DRG. A, Representative images showing TRPV1-immunoreactive neurons in the lumbar DRG of vehicle ( a ) , RTX ( b ), RTX plus 2 Hz EA ( c ), RTX plus 15 Hz EA ( d ), RTX plus 100 Hz EA ( e ), and RTX plus sham EA ( f ) groups. Scale bar, 50 μ m. B, Summary data show the number of TRPV1 immunoreactive neurons in different groups. Data are expresse d as means ± SEM (n = 6 rats in each group). *P < 0.05, compared with the vehicle group; # P< 0.05, compared with the sham EA group.

Figure 3: Effect of EA on RTX-induced deletion of TRPV1 immunoreactive central terminals in the spinal dorsal horn. A, Representative images showing TRPV1 immunoreactive central terminals of afferent fibers in the spinal dorsal horn of vehicle (a) ,RTX (b), RTX plus 2 Hz EA (c), RTX plus 15 Hz EA (d), RTX plus 100 Hz EA (e), and RTX plus sham EA (f) groups. Scale bar, 50 μm. B, Summary data show the area of TRPV1 immunoreactive central terminals in different groups. Data are expressed as means ± SEM (n= 6 rats in each group). *P < 0.05, compared with the vehicle group; # P < 0.05, compared with the sham EA group. 

I am always interested in how our Pain and Inflammation Research Markers are used to help understand the science behind pain therapies and also discovery of new therapies. There are multiple postings on these subjects with many more to come.