Yuan, Yi-Na, Liu, Di, Liu, Jun-Wei et al. · Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research · 2026 · DOI
This study tested whether a traditional acupuncture technique called warming needle moxibustion could help rats with chronic fatigue syndrome by improving how their muscle cells produce energy. Researchers found that the treatment improved the rats' activity levels and physical strength, and appeared to work by activating cellular pathways that help damaged mitochondria (the cell's energy factories) clean themselves up and function better.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is hypothesized to contribute to ME/CFS pathology, and this study identifies a specific molecular pathway (AMPK/ULK1-mediated autophagy) through which a non-pharmacological intervention might restore cellular energy production. Understanding these mechanisms could guide development of targeted therapies for the profound fatigue experienced by ME/CFS patients.
This study does not prove that warming needle moxibustion is effective in human ME/CFS patients—it is an animal model study only. The multi-factor stress model used creates fatigue-like symptoms in rats but may not fully recapitulate human ME/CFS pathophysiology. Additionally, the study cannot determine whether the observed molecular changes are causally responsible for symptom improvement or merely correlated with it.
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
Yuan, Yi-Na, Liu, Di, Liu, Jun-Wei, Li, Hua-Yuan, Li, Long, & Wu, Yong-Li (2026). [Effect of warming needle moxibustion on mitochondrial autophagy in rats with chronic fatigue syndrome based on AMPK/ULK1 signaling pathway].. Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research. https://doi.org/10.13702/j.1000-0607.20250074
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-yuan-2026-effect-warming,
author = {Yuan, Yi-Na and Liu, Di and Liu, Jun-Wei and Li, Hua-Yuan and Li, Long and Wu, Yong-Li},
title = {[Effect of warming needle moxibustion on mitochondrial autophagy in rats with chronic fatigue syndrome based on AMPK/ULK1 signaling pathway].},
journal = {Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.13702/j.1000-0607.20250074},
note = {PubMed: 41735067},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/yuan-2026-effect-warming},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/yuan-2026-effect-warming
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