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Liver fibrosis – how acupuncture and herbs integrate to help healing


Acupuncture helps to heal liver fibrosis by significantly enhancing effects of curcumin
Liver fibrosis happens when the proteins including collagen surrounding liver cells start to accumulate excessively.  Liver fibrosis is often a result of all types of liver diseases.
Science used to consider liver fibrosis to be irreversible condition, but recent evidence suggests the opposite.
Acupuncture has been increasingly used to treat chronic liver diseases. And we’re obviously interested to know how acupuncture can be helpful with liver fibrosis. A study published in the current issue of peer-reviewed international journal Acupuncture in Medicine tried to understand what exactly acupuncture does in combination with curcumin for liver fibrosis.
They found that acupuncture significantly enhances curcumin effects for liver fibrosis. They also found biochemical changes at the cellular level.  The effects were attributed to acupuncture and curcumin disrupting platelet-derived growth factor ? receptor/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signalling and stimulates extracellular matrix degradation. Curcumin is the principal active ingredient of turmeric.  This is yet another great example of how acupuncture and herbal medicines go hand in hand and enhance each others effect.
Ref: Acupuncture combined with curcumin disrupts platelet-derived growth factor ? receptor/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signalling and stimulates extracellular matrix degradation in carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats. Acupuncture in Medicine doi:10.1136/acupmed-2012-010167
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