Ann Transl Med, 2022 · DOI: 10.21037/atm-22-5920 · Published: December 1, 2022
This study investigates how electroacupuncture (EA) can help with neuropathic pain (NP), which is pain caused by nerve damage. The researchers looked at a specific area called the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and a process called autophagy, which is like a cellular cleaning system. The study found that EA seems to help reduce NP by promoting autophagy in specific immune cells (macrophages) within the DRG. This process involves a particular pathway called AMPK/mTOR. The findings suggest that targeting autophagy and using EA could be a new way to treat NP. It also helps us understand how the AMPK/mTOR pathway is involved in how EA reduces pain.
The study provides a novel therapeutic target for NP by elaborating EA’s analgesic impact that is partly related to AMPK/mTOR pathway activation and autophagy induction in DRG macrophages.
This study provides a fundamental basis for targeting autophagy pathway and application of EA in NP therapy.
The research further elucidates the regulation and role of AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in EA mediated analgesia, offering new sights and targets for pain therapy.