ReviewMolecular pain
Mechanisms of acupuncture-electroacupuncture on inflammatory pain.
Review in Molecular pain. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Combined noninvasive brain stimulation and acupuncture for post-stroke motor recovery: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for arrythmias: an overview of systematic reviews and Meta-analyses.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of various acupuncture modalities on alleviating symptoms in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Pooled it
- Global research hotspots and trends of acupuncture regulating neuroplasticity: a bibliometric analysis from 2005 to 2024.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Combining various acupuncture therapies with multimodal analgesia to enhance postoperative pain management following total knee arthroplasty: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Myofascial Trigger Point-Augmented Acupuncture vs Conventional Acupuncture for Early- to Mid-Stage Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Trial
- Electroacupuncture for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: clinical efficacy and its role in modulating pyroptosis and autophagy pathways.Clinical rheumatology · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Applied During the Post-Anesthesia Recovery Period in Improving Postoperative Recovery Quality After Gynecological Laparoscopic Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Electrical Stimulation-Induced Modulation of Small Extracellular Vesicles in Regenerative Therapy.Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine · 2026Review
- Acupuncture May Reduce Insulin Doses in Overweight Insulin-Treated Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Mechanisms of Acupuncture on the Neurovascular Unit in Migraine: A Narrative Review.European journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy Attenuates Inflammation in CCI-Induced Sciatica by Inhibiting the NF-κB Pathway.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2026Article
- Acupuncture for postoperative rehabilitation in degenerative lumbar spinal diseases: mechanisms and clinical evidence.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Review
- 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 · 2026Article
- 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 · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture combined with rTMS promotes neuronal regenerationEuropean journal of histochemistry : EJH · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Comparative Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Pain and Quality of Life in Women with Endometriosis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acupuncture, as a traditional treatment, has been extensively used in China for thousands of years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), acupuncture is recommended for the treatment of 77 diseases. And 16 of these diseases are related to inflammatory pain. As a combination of traditional acupuncture and modern electrotherapy, electroacupuncture (EA) has satisfactory analgesic effects on various acute and chronic pain. Because of its good analgesic effects and no side effects, acupuncture has been widely accepted all over the world. Despite the increase in the number of studies, the mechanisms via which acupuncture exerts its analgesic effects have not been conclusively established. A literature review of related research is of great significance to elaborate on its mechanisms and to inform on further research directions. We elucidated on its mechanisms of action on inflammatory pain from two levels: peripheral and central. It includes the mechanisms of acupuncture in the periphery (immune cells and neurons, purinergic pathway, nociceptive ion channel, cannabinoid receptor and endogenous opioid peptide system) and central nervous system (TPRV1, glutamate and its receptors, glial cells, GABAergic interneurons and signaling molecules). In this review, we collected relevant recent studies to systematically explain the mechanisms of acupuncture in treating inflammatory pain, with a view to providing direction for future applications of acupuncture in inflammatory pain and promoting clinical development.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.