ArticleScientific reports2016
Electroacupuncture in conscious free-moving mice reduces pain by ameliorating peripheral and central nociceptive mechanisms.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Evaluating the potential of acupuncture for Alzheimer's disease treatment: A meta-analysis and systematic review of mouse model studies.Translational psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture for chronic pain in adults with sickle cell disease: a mixed-methods pilot study.Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society · 2021Trial
- Molecular and Immunohistochemical Analyses of PLIN4 in the Spinal Cord and Brain During the Development of Electroacupuncture-Induced Analgesic Tolerance in Mice.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- Behavioral and transcriptional effects of age in HbSS-BERK humanized SCD mice.Journal of sickle cell disease · 2025Article
- Unmet Need: Mechanistic and Translational Studies of Sickle Cell Disease Pain as a Whole-Person Health Challenge.The journal of pain · 2024Review
- Article
- Pain in sickle cell disease: current and potential translational therapies.Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Integrative approaches to treating pain in sickle cell disease: Pre-clinical and clinical evidence.Complementary therapies in medicine · 2020Review
- Current Tracking on Effectiveness and Mechanisms of Acupuncture Therapy: A Literature Review of High-Quality Studies.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2020Review
- Clinical effects and safety of electroacupuncture for the treatment of allergic rhinitis: A protocol for systematic review.Medicine · 2020Article
- Mast Cells Induce Blood Brain Barrier Damage in SCD by Causing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Endothelium.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2019Article
- Substance P modulates electroacupuncture analgesia in humanized mice with sickle cell disease.Journal of pain research · 2019Article
- Targeting pain at its source in sickle cell disease.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2018Review
- Mast cell-neural interactions contribute to pain and itch.Immunological reviews · 2018Review
- Targeting novel mechanisms of pain in sickle cell disease.Hematology. American Society of Hematology. Education Program · 2017Review
- Review
- Functional MRI BOLD response in sickle mice with hyperalgesia.Blood cells, molecules & diseases · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Integrative approaches such as electroacupuncture, devoid of drug effects are gaining prominence for treating pain. Understanding the mechanisms of electroacupuncture induced analgesia would benefit chronic pain conditions such as sickle cell disease (SCD), for which patients may require opioid analgesics throughout life. Mouse models are instructive in developing a mechanistic understanding of pain, but the anesthesia/restraint required to administer electroacupuncture may alter the underlying mechanisms. To overcome these limitations, we developed a method to perform electroacupuncture in conscious, freely moving, unrestrained mice. Using this technique we demonstrate a significant analgesic effect in transgenic mouse models of SCD and cancer as well as complete Freund's adjuvant-induced pain. We demonstrate a comprehensive antinociceptive effect on mechanical, cold and deep tissue hyperalagesia in both genders. Interestingly, individual mice showed a variable response to electroacupuncture, categorized into high-, moderate-, and non-responders. Mechanistically, electroacupuncture significantly ameliorated inflammatory and nociceptive mediators both peripherally and centrally in sickle mice correlative to the antinociceptive response. Application of sub-optimal doses of morphine in electroacupuncture-treated moderate-responders produced equivalent antinociception as obtained in high-responders. Electroacupuncture in conscious freely moving mice offers an effective approach to develop a mechanism-based understanding of analgesia devoid of the influence of anesthetics or restraints.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.