We finally have a proof acupuncture can repair lost tissue

[Z...]

Current research has shown that acupuncture can precipitate mobilization of stem cells. The implications of this are huge and can potentially significantly lower the costs of stem cell therapy. In theory simplified stem cell therapy is electroacupuncture on specific points for certain amount of time following collection of blood at the right time and then injecting the blood at points nearest to the injury or degenerative changes. I have been testing this theory and so far have had amazing results.
Whole summary here
Acupuncture repairs structural damage through stem cell stimulation

If admins think its okay I can repost this on SOTT

 

[Laura]

It sounds really interesting; very much like auto-hemotherapy. The latter seems to work VERY well even without the acupuncture part, so one wonders which is doing the job?

 

[Arwenn]

Thanks for posting this Deckard, very interesting indeed. I use acupuncture on occasion, but had never heard of the above (aqua acupuncture ). I assume it is in its infancy, and only currently used in wholistic veterinarian treatment? Any further information you have would be much appreciated!

 

[Seamus]

Thanks for sharing this Deckard! Almost makes me wish I could do blood draws and injections in addition to acupuncture...

It sounds really interesting; very much like auto-hemotherapy. The latter seems to work VERY well even without the acupuncture part, so one wonders which is doing the job?

Research indicates that there are always mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) floating around in the blood:

Human peripheral blood derived mesenchymal stem cells demonstrate similar characteristics and chondrogenic differentiation potential to bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells.

It sounds like the acupuncture (or possibly just the electrical current) stimulates the body to release more stem cells into circulation so blood collected 2-4 hours after the acupuncture treatment has a higher concentration of MSCs. The researchers speculate that the stem cell release may be caused by the electrical stimulation, so its possible one could use a TENS unit on the acupuncture points (stick on pads instead of needles) to stimulate the same release of stem cells.

That said I took a look at the study here: Full Text Link... and it appears this is rodent study, so more research would need be done to find out if humans respond the same way. They mention that in humans the primary source of MSCs is adipose tissue, whereas in rodents they come from various tissues, so its possible humans might respond differently. They mentioned that they observed "browning of white adipose tissue in rats," so cold adaption could be a happy side effect! Certainly enough evidence to warrant experimentation.

 

[Z...]

Thanks for posting this Deckard, very interesting indeed. I use acupuncture on occasion, but had never heard of the above (aqua acupuncture ). I assume it is in its infancy, and only currently used in holistic veterinarian treatment? Any further information you have would be much appreciated!

As far as I know it is rarely used in human acupuncture. I think aqua-acupuncture was developed in Korea originally and they were injecting herbal preparations into acu points. In the west its mostly B12 or even saline solution and this has now become common practice in veterinary acupuncture. injecting of blood is I think ancient practice that was used on horses but I am not sure about this.
I find B12 or saline handy in patients that wont stay for full session with dry needles or EA. Or when I want prolonged effect after the session.

 

[Z...]

It sounds really interesting; very much like auto-hemotherapy. The latter seems to work VERY well even without the acupuncture part, so one wonders which is doing the job?

Well according to this study electro acupuncture plays a big part:
"While colony‐forming cells were rarely seen at baseline, colony‐forming ability was easily detected in blood samples obtained 2 and 4 hours after EA (Fig. 7A), the identical time points examined in humans and rats. Blood collected at 2 and 4 hours post‐EA using mock acupoints approximately 1 cm from the immune points in the same horses did not give rise to colonies in vitro. Importantly, and representing a more critical control than simply sham acupoints, the use of metabolic points similarly did not give rise to significantly more colonies in vitro (Fig. 7A). To further verify the stem/progenitor characteristics of the equine cells, clonogenic potential was determined using single cell assays. EA‐mobilized cells showed robust clonogenic potential, with over 75% proliferating into two or more cells, and over 50% of them resulting in large colonies of 10,000 cells or more; levels of proliferation that are generally reflective of stem/progenitor cells (Fig. 7B)."

 

[Laura]

As far as I know it is rarely used in human acupuncture. I think aqua-acupuncture was developed in Korea originally and they were injecting herbal preparations into acu points. In the west its mostly B12 or even saline solution and this has now become common practice in veterinary acupuncture. injecting of blood is I think ancient practice that was used on horses but I am not sure about this.
I find B12 or saline handy in patients that wont stay for full session with dry needles or EA. Or when I want prolonged effect after the session.

Autohemotherapy is something we've been looking into for about 6 months. Here is about the only book on the topic we found:

https://www.amazon.com/Autohemother...initive-Bloodletting/dp/1453600752/ref=sr_1_1

Vol. II:

https://www.amazon.com/AutoBlood-Magic-Shot-Autohemotherapy-Bloodletting/dp/1535408928/ref=sr_1_3\

There are some papers on the topic in Spanish and Portuguese, but not a lot. One can understand why: it really works and the pharmaceutical companies want to suppress that.

 

[Seamus]

From what I've heard (from Chinese supervisors) injection acupuncture is used very commonly in China to prolong treatments, just as you say. Most states don't allow acupuncturists to do it, Florida is the only state I'm aware of.

Your last quote only indicates that the point location is important, but it doesn't appear to me that the study had a non-ElectroAcupuncture control group so its unclear whether or not the electricity is the key factor or the needle penetration, IMO. They would need to do a follow up study to find out for sure, ideally with three experimental groups: acupuncture w/o electrical stimulation, EA and electricity only. In my experience pretty much any stimulation at an acupuncture point can activate its effects, even a tiny sticker. My best guess is that acupressure would stimulate a similar stem cell release, although the effect might be smaller.

 

[Z...]

Yes, my teacher is third generation of TCM family - he took veterinary path. According to him the most important thing is De Qi - the Qi response. EA is just more convenient in veterinary medicine especially in large animals, imagine running around the horse to twist all the needles ;)

 

[Z...]

Autohemotherapy is something we've been looking into for about 6 months. Here is about the only book on the topic we found:

https://www.amazon.com/Autohemother...initive-Bloodletting/dp/1453600752/ref=sr_1_1

Vol. II:

https://www.amazon.com/AutoBlood-Magic-Shot-Autohemotherapy-Bloodletting/dp/1535408928/ref=sr_1_3\

There are some papers on the topic in Spanish and Portuguese, but not a lot. One can understand why: it really works and the pharmaceutical companies want to suppress that.

I have no doubts. In veterinary medicine some aspects of it have been mainstream for at least 20 years. We use it in some allergic conditions, and also the best thing for corneal ulcers is preparing eye drops by extracting a serum. Now adding this recent research into equation certainly seems like extra punch and it is very exciting.

 

[Seamus]

This conversation reminds me of a passage I read in The Spark in the Machine: How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine by Daniel Keown. I don't have the book to quote from but at one point he mentions that amphibians red blood cells have a nucleus, so when a salamander loses a limb the blood cells that form the blood clot transform into stem cells to regrow the limb. This blew me away and I still wonder why "higher animals" like humans and other mammals lost this ability. I've read a few explanations for it that don't satisfy me.

Maybe Wolverine's mutation is that he has nucleated red blood cells that transform into stem cells when he's injured

 

[Chu]

That said I took a look at the study here: Full Text Link... and it appears this is rodent study, so more research would need be done to find out if humans respond the same way. They mention that in humans the primary source of MSCs is adipose tissue, whereas in rodents they come from various tissues, so its possible humans might respond differently. They mentioned that they observed "browning of white adipose tissue in rats," so cold adaption could be a happy side effect! Certainly enough evidence to warrant experimentation.

Very interesting! Yes, that's why for stem cell therapy they draw from the adipose tissue mostly. But with hemotherapy, I think the idea is to mobilize the stemcells to wherever they are needed, instead of injecting them directly in the area.

 

[Seamus]

Very interesting! Yes, that's why for stem cell therapy they draw from the adipose tissue mostly. But with hemotherapy, I think the idea is to mobilize the stemcells to wherever they are needed, instead of injecting them directly in the area.

In that case IMO this study suggests that stimulation of acupuncture points increases stem cells in circulation without the need for blood draws and injections. How often would one administer a hemotherapy treatment? I would be curious to find out how the cumulative effect of regular acupuncture treatments (say 1-3x per week) compares to regular hemotherapy treatments. If the stem cell effect was similar I would choose the acupuncture just because acupuncture needles are less invasive than hypodermics and they hurt less (usually) than getting blood drawn. As I said before I would be willing to bet that even acupressure or the little stickers we used when we visited would create a similar effect as long as you are in the right place.

 

[hiker]

There's a lecture about auto-hemotherapy by Dr. Luiz Moura on Youtube:

Text only version:
http://autohemotherapy.blogspot.fi

Basically, in a "normal" situation, you would draw 5ml of blood from a vein, and inject it back to a muscle (usually an upper arm, some people have commented injecting to a thigh), once a week.

It is a bit tricky to do on your own, but people seem to manage:

Acupuncture could be difficult to do alone, but auto-hemotherapy seems to be a "stem cell therapy" that's doable at home.

 

[Laura]

In that case IMO this study suggests that stimulation of acupuncture points increases stem cells in circulation without the need for blood draws and injections. How often would one administer a hemotherapy treatment? I would be curious to find out how the cumulative effect of regular acupuncture treatments (say 1-3x per week) compares to regular hemotherapy treatments. If the stem cell effect was similar I would choose the acupuncture just because acupuncture needles are less invasive than hypodermics and they hurt less (usually) than getting blood drawn. As I said before I would be willing to bet that even acupressure or the little stickers we used when we visited would create a similar effect as long as you are in the right place.

Actually, there is a LOT more to auto-hemotherapy than just that and I would suggest that it may not be superior to acupuncture, but it sure can be dramatic and deals with other issues as well. Reading the literature about it suggests that it is a form of "auto-immunization" (this term is actually used) also, since the body is being forced to react to a situation that is very specific: a person's own blood and all it contains in terms of markers, antibodies, etc. If there is a pathogen there, the body is having this forcibly brought to its attention and must deal with it. The body thinks there is an injury, and mobilizes all repair actions. The body thinks there is an invasion and mobilizes defenses.

Acupuncture may, indeed, activate stem cell systems, but not as dramatically as auto-hemotherapy.