Feng, Chu-Wen, Qu, Yuan-Yuan, Sun, Zhong-Ren et al. · Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research · 2021 · DOI
This study tested whether electroacupuncture (a form of acupuncture with electrical stimulation) could help rats with chronic fatigue syndrome recover cognitive abilities like memory and learning. The researchers found that electroacupuncture reduced inflammation in the brain's memory center (hippocampus) and improved the rats' ability to learn and remember, likely by blocking a inflammatory protein called NF-κB.
Cognitive dysfunction ("brain fog") is a cardinal feature of ME/CFS that severely impacts quality of life. This study identifies a potential inflammatory mechanism (NF-κB signaling) and non-pharmaceutical intervention that may warrant further investigation in human populations. Understanding inflammatory drivers of cognitive symptoms could inform future therapeutic targets.
This study does not prove electroacupuncture will improve cognition in human ME/CFS patients, as animal CFS models do not fully recapitulate human disease complexity. The findings demonstrate correlation between NF-κB inhibition and cognitive improvement in rats, but do not establish causation in humans or confirm that NF-κB is the primary mechanism underlying ME/CFS cognition problems. Results cannot be directly translated without rigorous human clinical trials.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Feng, Chu-Wen, Qu, Yuan-Yuan, Sun, Zhong-Ren, Wang, Yu-Lin, Zhang, Peng, Wang, Qing-Yong, et al. (2021). [Electroacupuncture improves cognitive function by inhibiting NF-κB activity in rats with chronic fatigue syndrome].. Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research. https://doi.org/10.13702/j.1000-0607.200827
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-feng-2021-electroacupuncture-improves,
author = {Feng, Chu-Wen and Qu, Yuan-Yuan and Sun, Zhong-Ren and Wang, Yu-Lin and Zhang, Peng and Wang, Qing-Yong and Lin, Wan-Juan and Zhang, Lin and Yang, Tian-Song},
title = {[Electroacupuncture improves cognitive function by inhibiting NF-κB activity in rats with chronic fatigue syndrome].},
journal = {Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.13702/j.1000-0607.200827},
note = {PubMed: 34558244},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/feng-2021-electroacupuncture-improves},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/feng-2021-electroacupuncture-improves
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