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Important to know: Chronic health conditions should be addressed under direct medical supervision of your GP or consultant, and acupuncture would be an adjunct or complement to usual care – we advise that you let you doctor know when you use this approach.

About the research: It is worth noting that in research, randomised controlled studies (RCT) are the most reliable in terms of quality of evidence, with a systematic review or meta analysis of numerous studies being the best way of seeing the overall picture of the state of the evidence. Below we have a selection of the available research, which does include some larger RCTs, and reviews of the literature alongside smaller studies. The n= figure tells you how many people were participants in the study.

Particular types of studies have shown acupuncture to modulate the body’s system toward normality, or homeostasis. For these reasons acupuncture has been sought by patients both with autoimmune conditions, as well as where the immune system is compromised or underactive.

Compromised immunity or an overactive/autoimmune condition may have many causes, so we will cover the studies that may be linked and of interest, but we are still working on these pages to bring more detail and research.

Immunity is based upon many factors, but measurable aspects of it can include blood levels of particular blood cells, in particular, types of white blood cell.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture: Neuro-Immune Modulated

A review article (Li et al, 2023) looked at 363 studies about the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of acupuncture from the last five years.  They concluded that acupuncture has a strong anti-inflammatory effect in multiple systems and diseases by regulating both local and systemic immune responses via neuro-immune regulation. Acupuncture was shown to modulate the immune cells and cytokines at the acupoint site and the target organs, within the immune, digestive, respiratory, nervous, locomotory, circulatory, endocrine, and genitourinary systems. Further, acupuncture activates the neuro-immune pathways in the brain and spinal cord to regulate inflammation, such as the cholinergic anti-inflammatory, vagus-adrenal medulla-dopamine, and sympathetic pathways, as well as the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Iatrogenic Bone Marrow Depletion

Shih et al (2023) carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving chemotherapy-induced bone marrow suppression due to chemotherapy.  Looking at 25 RCT’s (n=1713), they examined outcome measures of G-CSF (a type of protein that helps the body make more blood cells, particularly white blood cells); of white and red blood cell counts, neutrophils and natural killer cells counts.  The results showed that acupuncture significantly increased the levels of G-CSF, WBC, RBC, NEU, ANC, Hb, PLT, and NK cells compared with control groups. The levels of PLT and NK cells also increased cumulatively over time.  They suggested a role alongside conventional medicine for acupuncture in this area.

Immune Markers in Patients with Vascular Dementia

Zhi et al (2021; n=60) compared a vascular dementia group (VD) with a healthy control group to see if acupuncture can change the number and type of immune cells and molecules in the blood of patients with VD.  This wasn’t an RCT, as they did not have a VD control group, so the findings can be interpreted with caution.  They used blood tests to measure immune markers; Flow cytometry was used to count different types of immune cells, e.g. T cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells. And ELISA was used to measure different inflammation markers, such as interleukins (IL), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ).

Acupuncture was found (in Zhi et al’s 2023 study) to increase CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the blood of patients with VD. These are types of immune cells that help regulate immune responses and prevent excessive inflammation.  Acupuncture treatment also decreased the level of TNF-α in the blood of patients with VD. TNF-α is a molecule that causes inflammation and can damage brain cells. The study concluded that acupuncture treatment may improve the immune system of patients with VD by changing the number and type of immune cells and molecules in the blood, the theory being that mediating neuroinflammation would be beneficial to VD patients.

CSR and ERP are blood tests related to the functioning of the immune system, that can measure and monitor inflammation in the body.  They are relevant to conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, and other immune and inflammatory conditions. Per a review by Feng at al, (2023) electroacupuncture (EA) plus medication had a significant effect in lowering both ESR and CRP levels in patients with RA compared with medication alone.  These results suggest that EA may have an anti-inflammatory effect and improve the immune status of patients with RA.

Surgical Procedures and Immunity

Immune suppression can be a complication of major surgery, so Li et al (2013) carried out an RCT to examine the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on immune function and point specificity in patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy.  With n=29 in three groups; control, EA group, and sham acupoints.  EA partially reduced immune suppression after surgery, as measured by the levels of cytokines and immunoglobulins in peripheral blood, however without point specificity. They concluded EA may be a useful adjunct to general anaesthesia for improving immune function in patients undergoing major surgery, although sham acupuncture also produced some benefits, so further research in larger trials would be needed.

Measures of Immune / Inflammatory Biomarkers

Inflammatory and immune markers:  Wang et al (2008) reviewed the evidence from 8 RCTs for acupuncture as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that compared acupuncture with placebo or active drug interventions. Five studies observed a reduction in the inflammatory/immune marker of ESR and three noted a reduction in CRP level after acupuncture treatment.

In an animal study, Sun et al, (2023) were able to show that electroacupuncture worked by blocking a pathway in the synovium called TLR2/4, that activates immune response and inflammation.  The researchers therefore suggested the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of EA were related to the inhibition of TLR2/4 signalling on synovial fibroblasts and macrophages.

References:

Feng, Y., Zhang, R., Zhao, Z., He, Y., Pang, X., Wang, D. and Sun, Z., 2023. Efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture combined with medication for rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Heliyon.

Li, G., Li, S., Wang, B. and An, L., 2013. The effect of electroacupuncture on postoperative immunoinflammatory response in patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 6(3), pp.699-702.

Li, N., Guo, Y., Gong, Y., Zhang, Y., Fan, W., Yao, K., Chen, Z., Dou, B., Lin, X., Chen, B. and Chen, Z., 2021. The anti-inflammatory actions and mechanisms of acupuncture from acupoint to target organs via neuro-immune regulation. Journal of Inflammation Research, 14, p.7191.

Shih, Y.W., Wang, M.H., Monsen, K.A., Chang, C.W., Rias, Y.A. and Tsai, H.T., 2023. Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Relieving Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression: A Systematic Review with a Meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine.

Sun, S.Y., Yan, Q.Q., Qiao, L.N., Shi, Y.N., Tan, L.H. and Yang, Y.S., 2023. Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain Responses and Inflammation in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats via Suppressing the TLR2/4-MyD88-NF-κB Signaling Pathway. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2023

Wang, C., De Pablo, P., Chen, X., Schmid, C. and McAlindon, T., 2008. Acupuncture for pain relief in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review. Arthritis Care & Research: Official Journal of the American College of Rheumatology, 59(9), pp.1249-1256.

Zhi, H., Wang, Y., Chang, S., Pan, P., Ling, Z., Zhang, Z., Ma, Z., Wang, R. and Zhang, X., 2021. Acupuncture can regulate the distribution of lymphocyte subsets and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in patients with mild to moderate vascular dementia. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13, p.747673.