Acupuncture has its fan and its critics , but a Modern study shows that when it come to treatinghypertension , this ancient Chinese therapy is in fact good . Moreover , the research , which was put out last week in the journalScientific Reports , expose that the intervention produces its result by enrol the body’snatural opioids .

Hypertension , or high lineage pressure , is a dangerous condition that can moderate to philia attacks , virgule , and a range of other potentially fatal complications if pull up stakes untreated . Thoughacupunctureis often claim to be extremely effective at lower ancestry air pressure , until now there was very little scientific grounds as to how it might reach this on a physiological level .

researcher from the University of California , Irvine , perform electroacupuncture on rat with hypertension for see if the handling really could assuage their symptom . Electroacupuncture involves running a pulsating electric electric current through acupuncture needles in ordering to have acupoints .

Twice hebdomadal for five week , the rats received 30 minutes of treatments , with all needles being placed over the peroneal nerve in the lower leg . Three weeks into the experimentation , the study writer notice that the stinkpot ’ rip air pressure was reduced for a period of 72 hour abide by each treatment , hint that it was lick .

Genetic analysis revealed that throughout this period of deoxidise blood pressure , the expression of cistron inscribe for opioids prognosticate enkephalins were enhanced in a head region call the rostral ventrolateral medulla ( rVLM ) , indicating that theopioid systemwas mediating this improvement in symptoms .

To corroborate this , the squad chemically inhibited the opioid sensory receptor in the rats ’ rVLM , and chance that this keep the electroacupuncture from having an burden . They then cause these opioid receptors in other scum bag that had not received acupuncture , report that this make their blood air pressure to drop .

While this research does n’t necessarily prove that acupuncture work for the wide variety of disorders that it is often claimed to cure , it does at least show that the technique produces systemic effects that importantly determine the way the soundbox functions .