electroacupuncture

Overview

Electroacupuncture is a form of acupuncture in which small electrical currents are applied through needles inserted at selected points. It is used as a therapeutic intervention in both clinical and experimental settings, particularly in pain management, neurological disorders, and rehabilitation research. In biomedical studies, electroacupuncture is often investigated not only as a symptomatic treatment but also as a modulator of inflammatory signaling, autophagy, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and synaptic plasticity.

Recent research has examined electroacupuncture in relation to pathways such as SIRT1, NF-κB, VEGF/Akt1/ERK, ELAVL1/SIRT1/FOXO1, and TLR4/P2X7-NLRP3, reflecting interest in its potential to influence neuroprotection, immune regulation, and tissue repair. Across animal models and early clinical studies, electroacupuncture has been explored as a complementary therapy for ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, chronic low back pain, paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathic pain, depressive-like behavior, sarcopenia, and other conditions.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications have used electroacupuncture as an experimental intervention across a range of disease models, with a strong emphasis on pain modulation and neuroprotection.

In a mouse model of Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain, EA was tested for its effects on mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors. The study combined behavioral testing with chemogenetic manipulation of glutamatergic projections from the spinal dorsal horn to the lateral parabrachial nucleus, indicating that EA may reduce pain-related affective symptoms by suppressing excitatory signaling in the spinoparabrachial pathway.

In a study of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathic pain, EA was evaluated for analgesic effects and possible involvement of the TLR4/P2X7-NLRP3 signaling pathway. This work supports the idea that EA may attenuate neuropathic pain through modulation of innate immune and inflammasome-related signaling.

EA has also been studied in acute gouty arthritis using MSU-induced GA rats, where it was reported to alleviate arthritis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation through modulation of the circadian-inflammation axis. This links EA not only to inflammatory suppression but also to regulation of the circadian clock, suggesting a broader role in time-dependent immune control.

In models of ischemic stroke, EA was repeatedly associated with neuroprotection and recovery. One study reported that EA promotes angiogenesis and ameliorates dysregulated autophagy after ischemic stroke via the ELAVL1/SIRT1/FOXO1 pathway. Another found that EA promotes synaptic recovery after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion by activating SIRT1, inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, and regulating astrocyte phenotypic transformation. A separate study combined EA with neural stem cell transplantation and reported enhanced neurogenesis and functional recovery, with associated changes in tsRNA expression. Together, these studies position EA as a potential adjunctive strategy for post-stroke repair, affecting vascular, synaptic, glial, and gene-regulatory processes.

In a study of intracerebral hemorrhage, EA at GV20-GB7 was reported to regulate mitophagy and protect against neurological deficits via inhibition of apoptosis. Although this publication was later marked with an expression of concern, it reflects ongoing interest in EA as a modulator of mitochondrial quality control and cell survival pathways in acute brain injury.

EA has also been examined in depressive-like behavior in chronic unpredictable mild stress rats, where it was reported to enhance autophagy and reduce hippocampal neuroinflammation through the VEGF/Akt1/ERK pathway. This suggests a possible role for EA in neuropsychiatric conditions through immune-metabolic and plasticity-related mechanisms.

In chronic nonspecific low back pain, a pilot study assessed the acute effects of a single EA session on purinergic signaling and inflammatory markers in 23 patients. This clinical work indicates that EA may influence extracellular nucleotide signaling and inflammatory responses in humans, although the study was exploratory.

EA has also been investigated in older adults with sarcopenia, where it was combined with the Otago exercise Program in a randomized controlled study. This reflects interest in EA as an adjunct to exercise-based rehabilitation for age-related muscle decline.

Across these studies, EA is consistently presented as a multimodal intervention with potential effects on pain, inflammation, apoptosis, autophagy, angiogenesis, synaptic repair, and behavioral outcomes. The recurring involvement of pathways such as SIRT1/HIF-1α, nuclear factor kappa B, CASP1, SQSTM1, and anti-inflammatory cytokines underscores its broad mechanistic relevance in preclinical biomedical research.

Key Publications

• Jun Comparing 2-Hz and 100-Hz Electroacupuncture for Postoperative Musculoskeletal Pain: Protocol for a 2 × 2 Prospective Randomized Crossover Trial. (JMIR research protocols, 2026, PMID 42303244): "Electroacupuncture is used as an adjunct for analgesia, but the optimal stimulation frequency and short-term response trajectory have not been established."
• Jun Electroacupuncture Ameliorates Neuroinflammatory Damage and Cognitive Impairment in Vascular Dementia by Promoting Shh Signaling-Mediated Microglial M2 Polarization. (Neurochemical research, 2026, PMID 42301370): "Electroacupuncture (EA) has been documented to exert therapeutic benefits in vascular dementia (VD)."
• Apr Electroacupuncture alleviates acute gouty arthritis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation via modulation of the circadian-inflammation axis. (International immunopharmacology, 2026, PMID 41967209): "Electroacupuncture (EA) has shown anti-inflammatory potential in gouty arthritis (GA)."
• Jun Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain and Anxiety in CFA-Induced Mice by Suppressing Glutamatergic Neurons in the Spinoparabrachial Pathway. (FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2026, PMID 42240472): "Here, we investigated the effects of EA on mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors in Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain mice using von Frey testing, the open field test, and the elevated plus maze, combined with chemogenetic manipulation of glutamatergic projections from the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) to the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN)."
• May The effects of electroacupuncture and the Otago Exercise Program in older adults with sarcopenia: A randomized controlled study. (Medicine, 2026, PMID 42175481): "The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a combination of electroacupuncture (EA) and the Otago Exercise Program (OEP) for sarcopenia in older individuals and provide treatment recommendations for this patient population."
• May Electroacupuncture (EA) promotes angiogenesis and ameliorates dysregulated autophagy in ischemic stroke mice by modulating the ELAVL1/SIRT1/FOXO1 pathway. (Metabolic brain disease, 2026, PMID 42171856): "To investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on post-ischemic angiogenesis and autophagy regulation after ischemic stroke, and to clarify the functional involvement of the ELAVL1/SIRT1/FOXO1 signaling axis."
• May Electroacupuncture Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors by Enhancing Autophagy to Attenuate Hippocampal Neuroinflammation via the VEGF/AKT1/ERK Pathway in CUMS Rats. (Neurochemical research, 2026, PMID 42149321): "Electroacupuncture (EA) shows promise, but its mechanisms remain unclear."
• May Electroacupuncture Promotes Synaptic Recovery After Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion by Activating SIRT1 to Inhibit the NF-κB Pathway and Regulate Astrocyte Phenotypic Transformation. (Neurochemical research, 2026, PMID 42149357): "Electroacupuncture (EA) is neuroprotective, yet whether it promotes synaptic repair by orchestrating this phenotypic switch remains elusive."
• May Acute effects of a single electroacupuncture session on purinergic signaling and inflammatory markers in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a pilot study. (Purinergic signalling, 2026, PMID 42133255): "Among them, electroacupuncture (EA) stands out, which can be used to treat this type of pain."
• May The analgesic effect of electroacupuncture in alleviating paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathic pain and its possible mechanism relates to TLR4/P2X7-NLRP3 signaling pathway. (Purinergic signalling, 2026, PMID 42118387): "Electroacupuncture (EA) has demonstrated analgesic potential in various pain models, but its efficacy and mechanisms in PIPNP remain incompletely understood."