Acupuncture and Parkinson's disease - new evidence

Researchers from the University in Seoul, Korea, report that acupuncture may relieve some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The authors of the study say that acupuncture appears to reactivate areas of the brain that have become too deactivated.

The research team used MRI scanning to observe the specific effects on the brain of acupuncture needling at a point typically selected by acupuncturists for patients manifesting Parkinsonian symptoms. They found that the acupuncture point Yanglingquan (GB34) encouraged better neural responses in five different brain regions - basal ganglia, putamen, thalamus, caudate and substantia nigra.  All these brain regions are associated with Parkinson's disease.  You can access the research here.

I also recently came across a YouTube clip published by a Parkinson's disease charity based in Florida, U.S.A., featuring a doctor discussing the possible effects of acupuncture for people with Parkinson's disease.  

 

To return to my website and look at further evidence for Parkinson's disease, please click here.