Use of Acupoint Stimulation to Regulate Perioperative Stress-Induced Immunosuppression

Abstract

The stress response can be triggered during the perioperative period by tension, fear, anesthesia, surgical trauma, and various postoperative adverse stimuli, leading to significant changes in the endocrine, metabolic, and immune systems of patients. In particular, immunosuppression induced by the stress response has adverse effects on the postoperative recovery of patients. As acupuncture stimulation-related technologies have been rapidly developed and applied in recent years, a number of basic and clinical studies have confirmed that acupoint stimulation can regulate the immune system via local, neurological, and endocrine pathways. Moreover, acupoint stimulation treatment has also been shown to reduce the adverse effects of immunosuppression by affecting the release of various cytokines, such as interleukin (IL) 1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) β, immunoglobulins, complement proteins, and T cell markers such as CD3, CD4, and CD4/CD8 via the regulation of macrophages, neutrophils, NK cells, and endogenous opioids. In addition, acupuncture stimulation treatment during the perioperative period can also significantly decrease the amount of anesthetic required for anesthesia, effectively reduce nausea and vomiting, relieve post-operative pain, and accelerate the recovery of physiological functions. Therefore, acupuncture stimulation treatment has shown important potential for clinical applications.