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Acupuncture and the opioid system: implications in management of migraine
1Department of Neurobiology; the Weizmann Institute of Science; Rehovot, Israel.
Insights
Acupuncture effectively reduced migraine frequency and intensity in children. This treatment increased opioid activity in the blood plasma, suggesting a biological mechanism for pain relief in pediatric migraine patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Integrative Medicine
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Childhood migraine is a prevalent neurological disorder with significant impact on quality of life.
- Current treatment options for pediatric migraine have limitations and potential side effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for migraine in children.
- To investigate the effect of acupuncture on the opioidergic system in pediatric migraine patients.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 22 children with migraine, divided into true acupuncture and placebo acupuncture groups.
- A control group of 10 healthy children was included for comparison.
- Plasma opioid activity was measured using radioreceptor assay and radioimmunoassay for beta-endorphin.
Main Results:
- True acupuncture significantly reduced migraine frequency and intensity compared to placebo.
- Acupuncture treatment led to a gradual increase in plasma panopioid activity, correlating with clinical improvement.
- Significant increases in beta-endorphin levels were observed in the true acupuncture group.
Conclusions:
- Acupuncture appears to be an effective treatment for migraine in children.
- Acupuncture may exert its therapeutic effects by modulating the opioidergic system.
Abstract:
We investigated the effectiveness of acupuncture in childhood migraine in 22 children with migraine, randomly divided into two groups: a true acupuncture group (12 children) and a placebo acupuncture group (10 children). Ten healthy children served as a control group. Opioid activity in blood plasma was assayed by two methods: (1) determination of total (panopioid) activity with an opiate radioreceptor assay, and (2) determination of beta-endorphinlike immunoreactivity by radioimmunoassay. The true acupuncture treatment led to significant clinical reduction in both migraine frequency and intensity. At the beginning of the study, significantly greater panopioid activity was evident in plasma of the control group than in plasma of the migraine group. The true acupuncture group showed a gradual increase in the panopioid activity in plasma, which correlated with the clinical improvement. After the tenth treatment, the values of opioid activity of the true acupuncture group were similar to those of the control group, whereas the plasma of the placebo acupuncture group exhibited insignificant changes in plasma panopioid activity. In addition, a significant increase in beta-endorphin levels was observed in the migraine patients who were treated in the true acupuncture group as compared with the values before treatment or with the values of the placebo acupuncture group. The results suggest that acupuncture may be an effective treatment in children with migraine headaches and that it leads to an increase in activity of the opioidergic system.