Acupuncture is clinically used to treat various diseases and exerts positive local and systemic effects in several nervous system diseases. Advanced molecular and clinical studies have continually attempted to decipher the mechanisms underlying these effects of acupuncture. While a growing understanding of the pathophysiology underlying several nervous system diseases shows it to be related to inflammation and impair cell regeneration after ischemic events, the relationship between the therapeutic mechanism of acupuncture and the p38 MAPK signal pathway has yet to be elucidated. This review discusses the latest advancements in the identification of the effect of acupuncture on the p38 signaling pathway in several nervous system diseases. We electronically searched databases including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from their inception to April 2020, using the following keywords alone or in various combinations: “acupuncture”, “p38 MAPK pathway”, “signaling”, “stress response”, “inflammation”, “immune”, “pain”, “analgesic”, “cerebral ischemic injury”, “epilepsy”, “Alzheimer’s disease”, “Parkinson’s disease”, “dementia”, “degenerative”, and “homeostasis”. Manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture confer positive therapeutic effects by regulating proinflammatory cytokines, ion channels, scaffold proteins, and transcription factors including TRPV1/4, Na_v, BDNF, and NADMR1; consequently, p38 regulates various phenomena including cell communication, remodeling, regeneration, and gene expression. In this review article, we found the most common acupoints for the relief of nervous system disorders including GV20, GV14, ST36, ST37, and LI4. Acupuncture exhibits dual regulatory functions of activating or inhibiting different p38 MAPK pathways, contributing to an overall improvement of clinical symptoms and function in several nervous system diseases.

Malnourishment is prevalent in patients suffering from head and neck cancer. The postoperative period is crucial in terms of nutritional support, especially after composite resection and reconstruction surgery. These patients present with a number of risk factors that aggravate feeding intolerance, including postoperative status, prolonged immobility, decreased head elevation, mechanical ventilation, and applied sedative agents. Routine management protocols for feeding intolerance include prokinetic drug use and post-pyloric tube insertion, which could be both limited and accompanied by detrimental adverse events. This single-blind clinical trial aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture in postoperative feeding intolerance in critically ill oral and hypopharyngeal cancer patients. Twenty-eight patients were randomized into two groups: Intervention group and Control group. Interventions were administered daily over three consecutive postoperative days. The primary outcome revealed that the intervention group reached 70% and 80% of target energy expenditure (EE) significantly earlier than the control group (4.00 ± 1.22 versus 6.69 ± 3.50 days, p = 0.012), accompanied by higher total calorie intake within the first postoperative week (10263.62 ± 1086.11 kcals versus 8384.69 ± 2120.05 kcals, p = 0.004). Furthermore, the intervention group also needed less of the prokinetic drug (Metoclopramide, 20.77 ± 48.73 mg versus 68.46 ± 66.56 mg, p = 0.010). In conclusion, digestion-specific acupuncture facilitated reduced postoperative feeding intolerance in oral and hypopharyngeal cancer patients.

Major depressive disorder is identified as a mood disorder characterized by episodically recurring and potentially life-threatening negative symptoms. It is currently important for study, as it involves high morbidity, mortality and prevalence, as well as unsatisfactory treatment results. Establish an outpatient model from an integrative approach promoting the diversified development of traditional Chinese and Western medicine cooperation, leading to a holistic intervention for patients with depression. Fifteen participants with moderate to severe depression were followed up for eight weeks in the Acupuncture Department of the China Medical University Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan, under a collaborative outpatient model that combined Western psychiatry and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Interdisciplinary Intervention included manual acupuncture twice a week (16 sessions), tai chi, yoga meditation, and nutritional assessment. Symptomatology was measured with primary outcomes (self-reporting via questionnaires) and secondary outcomes (heart rate variability [HRV] and blood samples to measure inflammation via high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP]). The response rate was 80% (12/15 participants), with a statistically and clinically significant decrease in depression severity according to the 21-question Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS₂₁) (p < 0.001), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (p < 0.003), and quality of life (QoL) questionnaires (p < 0.002). We found body constitution heterogeneity in the participants with major depressive disorder (MDD), predominantly blood stagnation and Qi stagnation (in 70% of participants). An interdisciplinary outpatient treatment method of complementary therapies can be applied successfully with pharmacological treatment in clinical practice to reduce depression symptomatology. Physical/Mental practices. Major Depressive Disorder, Collaborative healthcare Treatment, Observational study.