From Acupuncture to Interaction between δ-Opioid Receptors and Na (+) Channels: A Potential Pathway to Inhibit Epileptic Hyperexcitability
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Updated: May 11, 2026

Preparation of Acute Brain Slices Using an Optimized N-Methyl-D-glucamine Protective Recovery Method
Published on: February 26, 2018
Dongman Chao1, Xueyong Shen, Ying Xia
1The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA ; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA ; Shanghai Research Center for Acupuncture and Meridians, Shanghai 201203, China.
Abstract:
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders affecting about 1% of population. Although the precise mechanism of its pathophysiological changes in the brain is unknown, epilepsy has been recognized as a disorder of brain excitability characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures that result from the abnormal, excessive, and synchronous activity of clusters of nerve cells in the brain. Currently available therapies, including medical, surgical, and other strategies, such as ketogenic diet and vagus nerve stimulation, are symptomatic with their own limitations and complications. Seeking new strategies to cure this serious disorder still poses a big challenge to the field of medicine. Our recent studies suggest that acupuncture may exert its antiepileptic effects by normalizing the disrupted neuronal and network excitability through several mechanisms, including lowering the overexcited neuronal activity, enhancing the inhibitory system, and attenuating the excitatory system in the brain via regulation of the interaction between δ -opioid receptors (DOR) and Na(+) channels. This paper reviews the progress in this field and summarizes new knowledge based on our work and those of others.
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