Zhu, Yang, Wang, Jingya, Yao, Lin et al. · Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2023 · DOI
This study tested whether electroacupuncture (a treatment involving tiny needles and electrical stimulation) could help mice with a condition similar to ME/CFS. Researchers found that electroacupuncture improved the mice's ability to move and strengthened their heart function by reducing levels of a particular chemical messenger (nitric oxide) in the body.
This study provides a potential biological mechanism linking electroacupuncture to symptom improvement in ME/CFS, specifically implicating nitric oxide dysregulation—a feature observed in some ME/CFS patients. Understanding such mechanisms could validate acupuncture as a therapeutic option and identify novel pharmacological targets for ME/CFS treatment.
This animal study does not prove that electroacupuncture will be effective in humans with ME/CFS; findings from mouse models often do not translate directly to human disease. The study demonstrates association between reduced iNOS/NO signaling and improved outcomes but does not definitively establish this pathway as the primary cause of symptom improvement. Results are limited to one specific acupuncture point and one stress-induced model of fatigue.
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
Zhu, Yang, Wang, Jingya, Yao, Lin, Huang, Yunxuan, Yang, Haitao, Yu, Xiaojiang, et al. (2023). Electroacupuncture at BL15 attenuates chronic fatigue syndrome by downregulating iNOS/NO signaling in C57BL/6 mice.. Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007). https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24953
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-zhu-2023-electroacupuncture-bl15,
author = {Zhu, Yang and Wang, Jingya and Yao, Lin and Huang, Yunxuan and Yang, Haitao and Yu, Xiaojiang and Chen, Xinghua and Chen, Yongjun},
title = {Electroacupuncture at BL15 attenuates chronic fatigue syndrome by downregulating iNOS/NO signaling in C57BL/6 mice.},
journal = {Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1002/ar.24953},
note = {PubMed: 35608198},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zhu-2023-electroacupuncture-bl15},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zhu-2023-electroacupuncture-bl15
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.