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REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuromuscular Disorders and Peripheral Neuropathies
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1516904
Biological Effect of Acupuncture on Peripheral Facial Paralysis
Provisionally accepted- 1 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 2 Sichuan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Peripheral facial paralysis is the dominant treatment disease of acupuncture. A large number of studies have proved the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of peripheral facial paralysis. However, the underlying biological effect remains in an exploratory phase. This article will sort out and summarize the existing research mechanisms from the following aspects: inflammatory response, immune regulation, neurotransmitters, immune response, facial microcirculation, oxidative stress, changes in nerve structure and function, specificity of acupoints, acupuncture intervention time, and other potential mechanisms aiming to provide a scientific foundation for the role of acupuncture in the treatment of peripheral facial paralysis. Furthermore, the review discusses future directions for mechanistic research based on existing findings.
Keywords: Acupuncture, Peripheral facial paralysis, Neuroinflammation, Molecular Neurobiology, Biological effect
Received: 28 Oct 2024; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Duan, Chen, Huang, Zeng, Liu, Wang and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chao Wang, Sichuan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Hao Zhou, Sichuan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.