Acupuncture for Parkinson’s Disease: Efficacy Evaluation and Mechanisms in the Dopaminergic Neural Circuit

Table 4

The neural circuit mechanisms of acupuncture for Parkinson’s disease in basic researches.

Study	PD model	Intervention	Acupoints	Acupuncture parameters	Behavioral measurements	Biochemical measurements
Zhang et al. (2018) [104]	MPTP rhesus monkeys	EA	ST36, LI4	100 Hz, 3-4-5 mA for 30 minutes	The speed of movement↑, longer performance time of the affected hand↑	The BOLD activations of the caudate nucleus, putamen, M1, cingulate gyrus, and GPe↓
Lee et al. (2013) [97]	MPTP beagle dogs	RA	ST36	Rotated clockwise and counterclockwise to generate Deqi	—	The BOLD signal intensity in the ipsilateral parietal lobe, contralateral temporal lobe, basal ganglia, pons, and cerebellum↓
Khalil et al. (2015) [84]	Rotenone rats	BVA	GB34	—	Suspension test: latency time↑; cylinder test: the number of wall touches↑	Caspase-3 activity↓, caspase-3 genes↓, Bax genes↓, DNA damage↓, MDA↓, PON1 activity↑, GSH↑, TNF-α↓, IL-1β↓, DA↑, 5-HT↑, noradrenaline↑
Kim et al. (2011) [36]	MPTP mice	MA	GB34	Turned at a rate of two spins per second for 15 s	Rotarod test: the ORP scores↑	TH-positive neurons in the SN↑, Nissl-positive cells in the SNpc↑, dopaminergic fibers in the ST↑, HVA in the ST↑, dopamine turnover ratios (DOPAC/DA, HVA/DA, and DOPAC+HVA/DA)↑, dopamine efflux in the ST↑, pDARPP-32 at Thr34↓, FosB in the ST↓
Rui et al. (2013) [105]	6-OHDA rats	EA	SP6, GB34, ST36	0/2/100 Hz, 1-3 mA for 30 minutes	Rotational behavior test: the average net number of turns/min (100 Hz)↓	TH-positive neurons on the lesion side (100 Hz)↑, TH-positive dendritic fibers in the ST↑, DAT in the ST and SN (100 Hz)↑, D1R mRNA and protein in the ST (100 Hz)↑, D2R protein (100 Hz) in the ST↓
Jia et al. (2009) [106]	MFB rats	EA	GV14, GV20	0/2/100 Hz, 1-2-3 mA for 30 minutes	Rotational behavior test: the average net number of turns/min (100 Hz)↓	TH-positive neurons in the SN (100 Hz)↑, TH-positive dendritic fibers in the ipsilateral SNpr (100 Hz)↑, substance P content in the SN (100 Hz)↑, GAD67 mRNA↓
Jia et al. (2010) [107]	MFB rats	EA	GV14, GV20	0/2/100 Hz, 1-2-3 mA for 30 minutes	Rotarod test: week 2 treadmill occupancy time (100 Hz)↑	GABA levels in midbrain (100 Hz)↓
Kim et al. (2014) [108]	6-OHDA mice	MA+L-DOPA	GB34	Turned at a rate of two spins per second for 15 s	Cylinder test: the number of wall touches↑; AIM scores↓	FosB in the ST↓, GABA contents in the SNpr↓, Glu levels in the SN↓
Sun et al. (2012) [109]	MFB rats	EA	GV14, GV20	100 Hz, 1-2-3 mA for 30 minutes	Rotarod test: treadmill occupancy time↑; rotational behavior test: the average net number of turns/min↓	TH-positive neurons↑, ACh, Glu in the ST↓

PD: Parkinson’s disease; MPTP: 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; EA: electroacupuncture; ST36: Zusanli; LI4: Hegu; M1: primary motor cortex; GPe: globus pallidus externa; RA: retained acupuncture; BVA: bee venom acupuncture; GB34: Yanglingquan; Bax: Bcl-2-associated X protein; MDA: malondialdehyde; PON1: paraoxonase-1; GSH: glutathione; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-1β: interleukin-1β; DA: dopamine; 5-HT: serotonin; MA: manual acupuncture; ORP: overall rod performance; SNpc: substantia nigra pars compacta; ST: striatum; HVA: homovanillic acid; DOPAC: dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; pDARPP-32: phosphorylated dopamine and adenosine 35-monophosphate-regulated phospho-protein; SP6: Sanyinjiao; DAT: dopamine transporter dopamine; D1R: D1 receptor; D2R: dopamine D2 receptor; MFB: medial forebrain bundle; GV14: Dazhui; GV20: Baihui; GAD67: glutamate decarboxylase-67; GABA: γ-aminobutyric acid; ACh: acetylcholine; Glu: glutamate.