Acupuncture and Hormone Balance
Chapter 2: Serotonin and Acupuncture
Serotonin, also called 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a hormone found in the brain, platelets, digestive tract, and pineal gland. It acts both as a neurotransmitter (a substance that nerves use to send messages to each other) and a vasoconstrictor (a substance that causes blood vessels to narrow). A lack of serotonin in the brain is thought to be a cause od depression. Production of serotonin in the brain is increased by the ingestion of the amino acid tryptophan (a chemical from which serotonin can be made). Serotonin is involved in a wide range of functions ushc as appetite, mood, hormonal balance, sleep/wake cycles, and alertness. "Alterations in serotonin production are thought to be at least part of the clinical basis for depression, premenstrual syndrome, eating disorders, and a variety of other problems," noted Barbara S. Beltz, a professor of neuroscience at Wellesley College.
Serotonin and Pain
Serotonin (5-HT) is one of the most important neurotransmitters involved in the mediation of acupuncture analgesia. Serotonin exerts its effect by binding to its receptor, a kind of protein on the cell. The discrepant effects of electric acupuncture on different pains and on different people have been attributed to various subtypes of serotonin recetpros. For instance, serotonin 1A and 3 receptors mediate the analgesic effects of electrical acupuncture, but the serotonin 2 receptor antagonizes this effect. Different people, with different genetic make-ups, have different combinations of receptors. This is one reason why different people respond to medication or acupuncture differently. When we use acupucnture to reduce different kinds of pain, such as neuropathy, lower back pain, fibromyalgia, or arthritis, there are usuallly three possible results after 5-6 treatments: (1) no worse, no better, patient may need more treatments; (2) the pain gets worse for the first two days and then starts getting better; (3) the pain is completely gone or dramatically reduced. The first two groups of people should be treated for more than 12 treatments before they decide wheter they resopond well to acupuncture or not. The third group of people, who respond so well, are usually people who practice healthier life styles, are very phyiscally active, practice Qi Goon, Yoga, or Reki, and do not eat much junck food.
While everybody expects miracles, there is no easy way to achieve good health; we need time and patience. Celebrex used to be called the magical pill by some patients with chronic pain, but sudden death due to heart problems happened often enough that finally the pill was taken off the market. In the small town of Needham, MA where I practice, there lived two physically active women who were generally quite helathy, except that they had joint pain. They took Celebrex for more than 5 years and then suddenly died of heart attacks in their fifties...