Parkinson’s disease is one of the main reasons I got into acupuncture; my father is a sufferer. Today I would like to link to a pubmed citation regarding the use of a point, Gall Bladder 34 Yanglingquan, and it’s effect on certain parts of the brain known to have links to Parkinson’s disease.
The abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22943145
CNS Neurosci Ther. 2012 Sep;18(9):781-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2012.00363.x.
Acupuncture stimulation on GB34 activates neural responses associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Yeo S, Lim S, Choe IH, Choi YG, Chung KC, Jahng GH, Kim SH.
Source
Department of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a degenerative brain disorder that is caused by neural defects in the substantia nigra. Numerous studies have reported that acupuncture treatment on GB34 (Yanglingquan) leads to significant improvements in patients with PD and in PD animal models. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have shown that patients with PD, compared to healthy participants, have lower neural responses in extensive brain regions including the putamen, thalamus, and the supplementary motor area.
OBJECTIVE:
This study investigated the reported association between acupuncture point GB34 and PD.
METHODS:
Using fMRI, neural responses of 12 patients with PD and 12 healthy participants were examined before and after acupuncture stimulation.
RESULTS:
Acupuncture stimulation increased neural responses in regions including the substantia nigra, caudate, thalamus, and putamen, which are impaired caused by PD.
CONCLUSIONS:
Areas associated with PD were activated by the acupuncture stimulation on GB34. This shows that acupuncture treatment on GB34 may be effective in improving the symptoms of PD. Although more randomized controlled trials on the topic will be needed, this study shows that acupuncture may be helpful in the treatment of symptoms involving PD.