Electroacupuncture may protect nerves and immune cell production during cisplatin treatment by activating sympathetic signals that release a protective neuropeptide.
The study examined electroacupuncture applied at two traditional stimulation sites during cisplatin chemotherapy and assessed nerve injury, pain-related toxicity, bone marrow blood-cell formation, and circulating white blood cells. The researchers investigated sympathetic nerve activity in bone marrow and tested whether blocking or activating the receptor for pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide altered electroacupuncture’s protective effects.
Electroacupuncture prevented cisplatin-associated nerve damage, pain-related toxicity, immune suppression, and loss of bone marrow blood-cell production. Its effects depended on sympathetic nerve terminals releasing pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, because receptor blockade removed protection, while receptor activation reproduced the benefits.
