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Scientific Basis of Auriculotherapy: State of the Art - PubMed

  • ️Wed Jan 01 2014

Scientific Basis of Auriculotherapy: State of the Art

Pierre Rabischong et al. Med Acupunct. 2014.

Abstract

Background: Using a modern scientific basis, this article examines clinical findings and experimentally reproducible data that demonstrate reliably the objective reality of the auriculotherapy procedures initiated by Paul Nogier, MD, of Lyon, France. Objective: The aims of this review are to: (1) identify the Chinese acupoints and all relevant related subjects; (2) offer a critical analysis of different auricle cartographies or ear maps; and (3) evaluate evidence for auriculotherapy with respect to the constant progress of our knowledge of nervous-system organization. Discussion: Acupuncture points have lower electrical impedance than nonacupoints. This was demonstrated by Niboyet and Terral, utilizing a sinusoidal current with the technical arrangements of different equivalent circuits made at Unit 103 of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Montpellier, France. This work demonstrated that physical behavior associated with acupuncture corresponds to a specific histologic structure located within the dermis termed the neurovascular complex (NVC). The concept of using sham points for testing acupuncture needs to be criticized. A reproducible experimental model of analgesia has been produced using the hind limb of a rabbit; this model is a proven demonstration of the positive action of acupuncture on pain. Acupuncture analgesia is a technique that has been used effectively by Chinese researchers in the 1970s for surgical applications. The different ear maps may have to be significantly modified because of the paucity of scientific validation of most of the localizations of organs or functions and, particularly, of nervous structures. Increased knowledge about complex nervous interactions should facilitate formulation of some scientifically acceptable hypothesis to explain the action of auriculotherapy. Conclusions: More scientific research should be performed to improve the scientific credibility of auriculotherapy.

Keywords: Acupoint Histology; Analgesia; Auricle Cartography; Auriculotherapy; Central Nervous System; Neurovascular Complex.

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Figures

<b>FIG. 1.</b>
FIG. 1.

Electrical detection of acupoints. (A) Punctiform detector equipped with strain gauges to measure the pressure on the skin (inferior line), showing, on the left, detection of the point with a current (superior line) and, on the right, out of the point. (B) Use of the curve plotter (C. Klein, PhD thesis. Montpellier, France: Faculty of Sciences, 1976) for sinusoidal current detection with typical signals: A. resistance; B.diode; and C. capacitor. Used with permission.

<b>FIG. 2.</b>
FIG. 2.

Histologic study of the acupoint. (A) Histologic section of rabbit skin on a detected point showing the neurovascular complex (NVC) with a drawn representation. (B) Sampling of a neurovascular bundle excised from the leg of a human volunteer with the complete NVC. (C) View of the myelinated and unmyelinated fibers around a vessel within the NVC. Left: black Chinese ink injected to localize the acupoint. (D) After argentic impregnation, on the left, unmyelinated nervous fibers within the wall of the artery of the NVC, and on the right, myelinated nervous fibers between vessels.

<b>FIG. 2.</b>
FIG. 2.

Histologic study of the acupoint. (A) Histologic section of rabbit skin on a detected point showing the neurovascular complex (NVC) with a drawn representation. (B) Sampling of a neurovascular bundle excised from the leg of a human volunteer with the complete NVC. (C) View of the myelinated and unmyelinated fibers around a vessel within the NVC. Left: black Chinese ink injected to localize the acupoint. (D) After argentic impregnation, on the left, unmyelinated nervous fibers within the wall of the artery of the NVC, and on the right, myelinated nervous fibers between vessels.

<b>FIG. 3.</b>
FIG. 3.

(A) Drawing of the innervation of the auricle with the different branches from V3,auricular branch of X, and cervical plexus C2–C3. (B) The three sectors of the neurovascular complex (NVC) of the auricle (Auziech O. MD thesis, Montpellier, France: University of Montpellier, 1984) corresponding to the three types of NVC: I. horizontal type; II. compact type; and III. vertical type. Used with permission.

<b>FIG. 4.</b>
FIG. 4.

Experimental model of analgesia on hind limbs of rabbit. (A) Insertion of acupuncture needles by Niboyet and Terral in two acupoints. (B) Measurement of the withdrawal reactions (reflex forces) with strain-gauge transducers. (C) Record of forces after painful puncture of skin with a detector equipped with strain gauges (middle line): on the left, before, and on the right, after 20 minutes of electrical stimulation of the two acupoints of the right hind limb (there were no more withdrawal reactions). (D) Implantation of a microelectrode into the nucleus parafascicularis of the thalamus of a rabbit with its head in a stereotactic frame. Bottom left shows pain signal recorded by the thalamic electrode during painful stimulation, and bottom right shows inhibition of pain signal after acupuncture stimulation.

<b>FIG. 4.</b>
FIG. 4.

Experimental model of analgesia on hind limbs of rabbit. (A) Insertion of acupuncture needles by Niboyet and Terral in two acupoints. (B) Measurement of the withdrawal reactions (reflex forces) with strain-gauge transducers. (C) Record of forces after painful puncture of skin with a detector equipped with strain gauges (middle line): on the left, before, and on the right, after 20 minutes of electrical stimulation of the two acupoints of the right hind limb (there were no more withdrawal reactions). (D) Implantation of a microelectrode into the nucleus parafascicularis of the thalamus of a rabbit with its head in a stereotactic frame. Bottom left shows pain signal recorded by the thalamic electrode during painful stimulation, and bottom right shows inhibition of pain signal after acupuncture stimulation.

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References

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