Progress of research on organ protection of acupuncture and moxibustion in the prevention and treatment of sepsis

Abstract

Sepsis is a major disease that threatens human life and health. Clinically, it is mainly based on supportive treatment and lacks specific treatment methods. Acupuncture has important clinical significance in the prevention and treatment of sepsis. In the present paper, we systematically searched CNKI and PubMed databases, included the clinical trials and animal experiments on the prevention and treatment of sepsis with acupuncture, summarized the clinical efficacy and the mechanism of acupuncture. Results indicate that the role of acupuncture therapies in improving sepsis involves inhibiting systemic inflammatory response, alleviating oxidative stress, regulating immune system, and resisting cell apoptosis, thus having a protective effect on multiple organs. The mechanism involves multiple signaling pathways and related factors.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Cell death; Immune regulation; Inflammation; Organ dysfunction; Oxidative stress; Sepsis.