En la literatura científica internacional se pueden encontrar numerosos estudios(1) desde hace más de 20 años que confirman la eficacia de la acupuntura para un amplio abanico de dolencias, como son la depresión, la ansiedad y el insomnio, los trastornos intestinales, el síndrome de abstinencia del tabaco o de la heroína, la esterilidad femenina (con el doble de éxito que las inseminaciones artificiales), la menopausia e incluso para hacer girar al feto dentro del vientre de su madre antes del parto con una tasa de éxito del 80%.
Las primeras investigaciones indicaban que la mayoría de estos efectos beneficiosos se originan en el sistema nervioso central (a nivel subcortical), que libera sustancias químicas llamadas neurotransmisores que reducen el dolor, refuerzan el sistema inmunológico y regulan diversas funciones del cuerpo. Ya en 1999 se demostró mediante imágenes de resonancias magnéticas cómo determinadas zonas del cerebro se activan con sólo insertar las agujas en los diferentes puntos de acupuntura(2).
En el año 2000, científicos de la Universidad de Harvard confirmaron que la acupuntura modula la actividad del sistema límbico y de la materia gris de las estructuras subcorticales del cerebro humano y bloquea las regiones del cerebro emocional responsables de la experimentación del dolor y de la ansiedad(3). La modulación de las estructuras subcorticales podría ser un mecanismo importante que explicaría los complejos efectos multisistémicos de la acupuntura.
Además, estudios más recientes apuntan que el equilibrio de las dos ramas del sistema nervioso autónomo se estimula mediante la acupuntura, que aumenta la actividad del sistema parasimpático y frena la del sistema simpático, lo que favorece la coherencia del ritmo cardíaco y el reequilibrio del sistema. Las consecuencias de este equilibrio en todos los sistemas orgánicos del cuerpo, su importancia para el bienestar emocional, la salud, el retraso del envejecimiento y la prevención de la muerte súbita han sido documentadas en diferentes revistas científicas(4).
En los últimos años la acupuntura está surgiendo como una importante modalidad de medicina complementaria en numerosos países occidentales. Hasta ahora, su uso y su eficacia no habían sido ampliamente aceptados por la comunidad médica. Pero la evidencia científica de los ensayos clínicos de acupuntura y las investigaciones sobre su mecanismo publicadas durante las dos últimas décadas en las revistas de ciencia más prestigiosas han facilitado la integración de la acupuntura como medicina complementaria de la medicina.
Numerosos estudios han demostrado cómo la acupuntura resulta eficaz en el tratamiento del dolor, en enfermedades neurológicas, del sistema musculoesquelético y del tejido conectivo, enfermedades tumorales, las del sistema digestivo y trastornos depresivos, entre otras. Se ha resumido el efecto terapéutico y el mecanismo de la acupuntura en cada tipo de enfermedad, y se ha hablado de su efecto analgésico, antiinflamatorio y de regulación de las redes neuro-endocrino-inmunes, que puede ser un interruptor común de la acupuntura en diferentes enfermedades del sistema nervioso.
En las notas a continuación aportamos el nombre de numerosos estudios de acupuntura publicados en las últimas décadas. Se trata de las investigaciones más importantes sobre la eficacia de la acupuntura para diferentes enfermedades y su demostración científica(5).
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