LONGECITY

Take this with a grain of salt -- the study was performed by Chinese researchers in China. Still, wow...

Neurosci Lett. 2006 Mar 2.

Acupuncture regulates the aging-related changes in gene profile
expression of the hippocampus in senescence-accelerated mouse (SAMP10).

Ding X, Yu J, Yu T, Fu Y, Han J.

Acupuncture and Moxibustion Research Institute, The First Teaching
Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 314
West Anshan Avenue, Tianjin 300193, China.

To examine molecular events in hippocampus associated with aging and
acupuncture effect, we employed cDNA arrays providing data of 588 genes
to define transcriptional patterns. Male 8-month-old SAMP10 and its
homologous SAMRl were selected and randomly divided into four groups:
R1 control group (Rc), P10 control group (Pc), P10 acupuncture group
(Pa) and P10 non-acupoint group (Pn). The points consisted Shanzhong
(CV17), Zhongwan (CV12), Qihai (CV6), Zusanli (ST36) and Xuehai (SP10).
In Pa, we found that points stimuli could completely or partly reverse
some genes expression profiles in hippocampus with aging.
Simultaneously, some genes not related with brain aging were affected
by acupuncture as well. Meanwhile, non-acupoint had some effect on
aging-unrelated genes expression and little or negative effect on
aging-related genes. We verified array results with RT-PCR and Northern
blotting for three genes which are related to oxidative damage closely,
including Hsp84, Hsp86 and YB-1. In conclusion, acupuncture could be a
potential intervention to retard molecular events with aging in
mammals.

PMID: 16516385 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Totally non-scientific statement starting... now: I know several people who have used acupuncture, one being a close family member, and it appeared to do her some good. End statement.

People are afraid of things they don't know much about. Acupuncture is slowly gaining acceptance as the old guard dies out and young people experiment with new things. It takes generations for new discoveries to become accepted.

it rare that a noneffective system of medicine stays in practice for 5000 years.

accupuncture has been around for a LONG time. obviously it works.