I was lucky enough to have been asked by the President of Asheville's Parkinson's Disease Support Group to gather research on the benefits of Acupuncture for patients suffering from the disease. The research is extremely compelling, showing not only reduction in severity of symptoms, but deceleration of disease progression.
So, after sending it along, I thought we all might benefit from becoming aware of acupuncture as a potential source of support and improved quality of life for patients navigating the incredibly challenging terrain of Parkinson's Disease (PD).
The following benefits were seen in participants using acupuncture alone, and as a complement to Western medicine. They integrate very well with one another.
Improved Sleep
Vagal Activation Of The Antiinflammatory Pathway
Improved Motor Control
Reduced Depression
Improved Neural Response / Neuromodulation
Improved Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Scores
Brain Functional Connectivity (BFA) Enhancement
Reduced Rate Of Disease Progression
JAMA - June 26, 2024
“In this randomized clinical trial of 78 patients, those randomly assigned to receive real acupuncture (RA) vs sham acupuncture (SA) for 4 weeks had a statistically significant improvement in Parkinson Disease Sleep Scale scores compared with baseline. This improvement persisted for 4 weeks posttreatment in the RA group but not in the SA group.”
Frontiers - January, 2024
“This case affirms that using acupuncture in isolation significantly improved both the motor and non-motor symptoms in the patient. Acupuncture could potentially serve as an alternative therapy for patients who decline or are intolerant to anti-Parkinson drugs.”
Science Direct - June 2023
“Data suggests that acupuncture treatment is effective for PD symptoms by modulating inflammation and brain functional connectivity (BFC). These acupuncture effects have been shown to be similar to neuromodulation in controlling inflammation and BFC. Based on the shared mechanisms of action, potential acupuncture mechanisms that may ameliorate a wide range of PD symptoms include but are not limited to (1) vagal activation of the anti-inflammatory pathway and (2) BFC enhancement.”
NIH - November, 2022
“Although all the studies reviewed pointed out a positive effect of acupuncture on improving motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, we found great discrepancies regarding the studies’ design and methodology, making difficult any comparison between them.”
Neural Plasticity - June, 2021
“... acupuncture may reduce neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons and regulate the balance of the dopaminergic circuit, thus delaying the progression of the disease.”
Medicine - December, 2018
“Immediately after 8 weeks of acupuncture treatment, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) sub-scores and the depression scores for the patients had statistically decreased compared to the scores before acupuncture treatment; moreover, 8 weeks later, these scores remained stable. Compared to the neural responses before the acupuncture stimulation, those after the acupuncture treatment were significantly higher in the thalamus, cingulate gyrus, anterior cingulate, lingual gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, lateral globus pallidus, mammillary body, middle temporal gyrus, cuneus, and fusiform gyrus. Finally, a positive correlation was found between the UPDRS and the mean magnetic resonance signal change for the thalamus.”
NIH - January, 2017
“Acupuncture was effective in relieving PD symptoms compared with no treatment and conventional treatment alone, and acupuncture plus conventional treatment had a more significant effect than conventional treatment alone.”