Medicina Tradicional y Naturopatía Clínica

Abstracto

Effects of Acupuncture on Obesity and Adipokines Involved in Body Weight Control

García-Vivas Jessica, González-González Roberto, García-Cardona Ma. Del Carmen, López-Camarillo César and Marchat Laurence A

Obesity is a worldwide disease that results from a deregulation of energy balance and changes in adipokines
and other molecules with metabolic relevance. Pharmacological treatments for obesity are often associated to drug adverse effects. Among alternative and complementary therapeutic methods for obesity treatment, Traditional Chinese Medicine and particularly acupuncture that have been practiced for thousands of years in China, have been increasingly used for the efficient control of body weight without producing negative side effects and weight regain. Several works have suggested that the effects of acupuncture may be related to hypothalamus stimulation, which may regulate the production of some proteins involved in food intake and energy expenditure balance. In this review, we present the main results of English publications obtained from PubMed database as well as data from works published in original Chinese language. These reports describe the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for obesity. They also provide evidence about the regulation of the principal adipokines related to obesity, namely leptin and adiponectin, as well as other relevant biochemical molecules. Although further well-designed and controlled studies are required,
this knowledge contributes to gain some insight in the mechanisms underlying the effect of acupuncture for obesity treatment.