Acupuncture still has a way to go to prove itself useful in many clinical applications, but its effectiveness may be significantly boosted by improving the needles that are used. A study in journal Nature Scientific Reports by researchers at DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea) introduces acupuncture needles that have minuscule holes throughout them that are from nanometer to micrometer in scale.
The new needles have a significantly greater surface area, about ten times that common needles of the same size would have. The researchers, in a study on lab rats with colorectal cancer, demonstrated that “the nanoporous needles doubled the electrophysiological signal generation function by needle stimulus,” as per a DGIST announcement.
According to the researchers, “[t]he commonly accepted operational mechanism of acupuncture is that an electrical signal is transferred from the acupoint of the body, such as the hand, foot, or skin, to the disease origin.” If so, perhaps other areas of medicine where acupuncture may be useful, it will be able to show its benefits with greater clarity.
Study in Scientific Reports: Enhanced Therapeutic Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Using Surface-Modified Nanoporous Acupuncture Needles…
Via: DGIST…