Acupuncture Application in Chronic Kidney Disease and its Potential Mechanisms

作者：Wei Xiong, Fangfang He, Ren-Yu You, Jing Xiong, Yumei Wang, Chun Zhang, Xianfang Meng, Hua Su · 发表于：The American Journal of Chinese Medicine · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1142/s0192415x18500611 · 被引用次数：50 · 研究领域：Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies、Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies、Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing major public health problem worldwide. The number of CKD patients on hemodialysis is growing rapidly as well. Acupuncture technique is one of the traditional Chinese medicine methods and has been used in a variety of diseases. Nowadays, the clinical application of acupuncture technique for CKD patients has become the focus for its effectiveness and security. In this paper, we will review the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of different acupuncture techniques for CKD patients. In patients with CKD, acupuncture improves renal function, reduces proteinuria, controls hypertension, corrects anemia, relieves pain, and controls many hemodialysis-related complications such as uremic pruritus, insomnia and fatigue. The mechanisms are related to the regulation of sympathetic nerve and the activation of bioactive chemicals. In conclusion, acupuncture is proved to be beneficial for CKD patients. More research, however, is needed to verify the potential mechanisms.