Electroacupuncture reduces irritable bowel syndrome pain by suppressing spinal astrocyte signalling that drives neural sensitisation.
Researchers induced persistent bowel pain sensitivity in rats through chemically induced colon inflammation, then applied electrical acupuncture at two hind-limb acupuncture points. They measured pain-related abdominal responses during colorectal stretching and tested the role of spinal astrocytes and a pain-signalling receptor using spinal injections of an astrocyte inhibitor, receptor activator, and receptor blocker. They also assessed spinal expression of receptors involved in excitatory pain transmission and markers of astrocyte activation.
Electroacupuncture reduced persistent visceral pain after colon inflammation had resolved, alongside lower spinal expression of excitatory pain receptors and astrocyte activation markers. Blocking astrocyte activity weakened these benefits, while blocking the spinal pain-signalling receptor enhanced acupuncture’s analgesic effects. Activating this receptor partly reversed the effects, indicating that electroacupuncture may limit pain sensitisation by inhibiting receptor-mediated signalling in spinal astrocytes.
