Electroacupuncture reduced migraine-like pain in rats by calming brain immune cells and dampening inflammatory signalling in a key facial pain-processing region.
Researchers induced recurrent migraine-like pain in rats by repeatedly applying an inflammatory solution to the protective membrane surrounding the brain. After each application, one group received electroacupuncture at two traditional acupuncture points. Facial sensitivity to mechanical stimulation was assessed, while blood and tissue from a brainstem region involved in facial pain processing were analysed for a migraine-associated neuropeptide, activated microglia, inflammatory molecules, and signalling proteins using biochemical, genetic, and tissue-staining methods.
Repeated inflammatory stimulation increased facial pain sensitivity and elevated markers of migraine-related signalling, microglial activation, inflammation, and inflammatory pathway activity. Electroacupuncture reduced pain sensitivity and lowered these markers in both blood and the facial pain-processing brain region, supporting a mechanism in which it suppresses microglia-driven inflammation through Toll-like receptor four and nuclear factor kappa B signalling.
