Electroacupuncture Relieves CCI-Induced Neuropathic Pain Involving Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

Chun-Ping Huang; Yi-Wen Lin; Der-Yen Lee; Ching-Liang Hsieh

doi:10.1155/2019/6784735

Electroacupuncture Relieves CCI-Induced Neuropathic Pain Involving Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 Oct 20:2019:6784735. doi: 10.1155/2019/6784735. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Chun-Ping Huang^{1

2}, Yi-Wen Lin^{1

2

3}, Der-Yen Lee⁴, Ching-Liang Hsieh^{1

2

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
² Research Center for Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
³ Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁴ Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.

Abstract

Neuropathic pain caused by peripheral tissue injuries to the higher brain regions still has no satisfactory therapy. Disruption of the balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters is one of the underlying mechanisms that results in chronic neuropathic pain. Targeting neurotransmitters and related receptors may constitute a novel approach for treating neuropathic pain. We investigated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on chronic constriction injury- (CCI-) induced neuropathic pain. The mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia pain behaviors were relieved by 15 Hz EA but not by 2 and 50 Hz. These phenomena were associated with increasing γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA) receptors in the hippocampus and periaqueductal gray (PAG) but not N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Furthermore, excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate was decreased in the hippocampus and inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA was increased in the PAG under treatment with EA. These data provide novel evidence that EA modulates neurotransmitters and related receptors to reduce neuropathic pain in the higher brain regions. This suggests that EA may be a useful therapy option for treating neuropathic pain.