ArticleScientific reports2017
Presence of caffeine reversibly interferes with efficacy of acupuncture-induced analgesia.
Article in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of purinergic signaling in acupuncture-mediated relief of neuropathic and inflammatory pain.Purinergic signalling · 2025Review
- Caffeine Attenuates Electroacupuncture Effect on Pressure Pain Threshold and Tolerance in Healthy Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Article
- Peripheral receptors and neuromediators involved in the antihyperalgesic effects of acupuncture: a state-of-the-art review.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2021Review
- Article
- Acupuncture and Neural Mechanism in the Management of Low Back Pain-An Update.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain Responses and Inflammation in a Rat Model of Acute Gout Arthritis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Acupuncture is an alternative treatment for wide spectrum chronic pain. However, its validity remains controversial due to the disputed efficacy assessed in various clinical studies. Moreover, variability amongst individuals complicates the predictability of outcome, which impedes the integration of acupuncture into mainstream pain management programs. In light of our previous finding that the analgesic effect of acupuncture is mediated by adenosine A1 receptor activation at the acupuncture point, we here report that in acute and chronic animal pain models, oral intake of caffeine, a potent adenosine receptor antagonist, interferes with acupuncture analgesia, even at a low dose. Local administration of caffeine at the acupuncture point was sufficient to eliminate the analgesic effect, dismissing the systemic action of caffeine. Such interference was reversible, as caffeine withdrawal fully restored the efficacy of acupuncture by the next day, and long-term exposure to caffeine did not alter A1 receptor expression at the acupuncture point. Combined, these data indicate that a trace amount of caffeine can reversibly block the analgesic effects of acupuncture, and controlling caffeine consumption during acupuncture may improve pain management outcomes.
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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.