A new study about acupuncture has been getting a lot of attention the last few weeks. The research was published in Nature Neuroscience on May 30 2010. This study links acupuncture to the stimulation of a chemical compound called adenosine in the body. Adenosine is a painkiller the body makes when we are injured.

Maiken Nedergaard , the neuroscientist who led the research, said: “Acupuncture has been a mainstay of medical treatments in certain parts of the world for 4,000 years but, because it has not been understood completely, many people have remained sceptical.” The scientist from Rochester Medical Center in New York, performed acupuncture on mice with sore paws. The treatments resulted in the levels of adenosine, increasing more than 20-fold and the pain was eased by two-thirds. Increasing levels of adenosine without acupuncture also had a soothing effect, the journal reported.

I am happy that Western science is taking an interest in acupuncture. However there are some difficulties with these types of studies and the basic principals of Chinese Medicine. Terry Fox L.A.c has a blog post that addresses this question and talks more about this study. Read it here, I’d love to hear what you think.