Acupuncture, which comes from conventional Chinese language medication, might assist in the therapy of pathologies associated to Covid-19, as proven by experiments on animals.
By Jean-Marc Sabatier *
Throughout a viral an infection, the SARS-CoV-2 virus induces a dysfunction of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by binding to the ACE2 receptor of goal cells. This RAS dysfunction induced by the virus (and even by the vaccine spike protein) ends in the overactivation of its deleterious AT1R receptor current on many organs and tissues.
The overactivated AT1R receptor is answerable for Covid-19 ailments by way of its pro-hypertensive, pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidant, pro-thrombotic, pro-angiogenic, pro-fibrotic, pro-hypertrophic, and nitric oxide manufacturing inhibition actions.
Chemical mediators
When the RAS and its AT1R receptor are overactivated, there’s a excessive manufacturing of renin (which converts angiotensinogen into angiotensin-1, which is the precursor of angiotensin-2), an extra of angiotensin-2 (which overactivates the RAS and the AT1R receptor), and a launch of aldosterone (by way of the surplus of angiotensin-2).
Extra angiotensin-2 results in activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the physique’s “automated” actions (coronary heart fee/respiratory, blood circulation, digestion and waste elimination, clean muscle contraction, and so forth.) and the functioning of organs (kidneys, digestive system, and so forth.). Chemical mediators of this method, resembling adrenaline and noradrenaline, enable exact management of those features.
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system may be accompanied by cardiac (tachycardia) or intestinal disturbances, hypertension/vasoconstriction of blood vessels, dilation of the bladder and/or bronchial tubes, elevated sweating, launch of glucose by the liver, extra secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline by the adrenal glands, and others.
Acupuncture in animals
Surprisingly sufficient, it has been demonstrated experimentally in animals that acupuncture (an empirical methodology of care primarily based on using needles stimulating particular factors on the pores and skin), or low frequency electro-acupuncture from 2 to 30 Hz (a variant of acupuncture permitting the supply of weak electrical currents by way of the pores and skin), and even moxibustion (it consists in stimulating an acupuncture level by way of warmth utilizing moxas), was in a position to act on hypertension and metabolic homeostasis of many key molecules instantly or not directly concerned within the RAS and Covid-19 ailments (for instance : renin, angiotensin-2, aldosterone, endothelin-1, nitric oxide, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, enkephalins/endorphins, and so forth. ).
These knowledge recommend that acupuncture -an ancestral method from conventional Chinese language medicine- may very well be an strategy of curiosity for the therapy or potential aid of pathologies associated to Covid-19, and extra significantly to Covid lengthy.
*Jean-Marc Sabatier is Director of Analysis on the CNRS and holds a PhD in Cell Biology and Microbiology. Editor-in-Chief of the worldwide scientific journals: “Coronaviruses” and “Infectious Issues – Drug Targets”. He speaks right here in his personal identify.
