Multi-effective characteristics and advantages of acupuncture in COVID-19 treatment

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major disease that threatens human life and health. Its pathogenesis is complex and still not fully clarified. The clinical treatment is mainly supportive and lacks specific treatment methods. Acupuncture treatment can inhibit immune inflammatory reactions, neuroinflammatory reactions, oxidative stress levels, and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, improve lung function, and relieve migraine, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. However, whether acupuncture treatment is suitable for treating these symptoms in patients with COVID-19 still needs to be investigated. For this review, the literature was systematically searched for multiple databases to summarize the mechanisms of acupuncture treatment for COVID-19-related symptoms and complications. A complex network analysis of acupoints and symptoms was also performed to clarify acupoint selection in the acupuncture treatment of symptoms related to COVID-19. The evidence indicates that acupuncture can improve the respiratory, digestive, nervous, and mental and psychological symptoms related to COVID-19 by inhibiting immune inflammatory reactions, regulating intestinal flora, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress level, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, neurotransmitter release, and HPA axis activity, and alleviating basic diseases such as diseases of the vascular system. Acupuncture can improve various clinical and concomitant symptoms of COVID-19; however, its mechanism of action is complex and requires further study.

Keywords

Acupuncture / COVID-19 / Inflammatory factor storm / Multi-efficiency

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 82004467,82030125 and 81573882); the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2019YFC1712200-2019YFC1712204).

Author contributions

The authors contributed in the following manner: Lifen Wang and Xiyou Hu contributed to the concept design, data collection, and paper writing; Xinru Yuan, Jinyu Lian, Xiaoyan Lyu contributed to the figures and graphic abstract edit; Lihong Huang, Dongsheng Ba contributed to the data collection and analysis; Ningcen Li,Yong Chen, Jingyu Zhang contributed to the language modification and text check; and Zelin Chen, Bo Chen,Yue Zhang and Lianqi Geng contributed to the concept design and paper review. Lifen Wang and Xiyou Hu contributed equally to this work. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical approval of studies and informed consent

Not applicable.

Acknowledgements

None.

Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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