Successfully treated recalcitrant atopic eczema with acupoint autologous blood injection
Kristen Sparrow • August 08, 2022
I love this study. I’ve wondered for awhile if a patient’s own blood would invoke a more robust and long-lasting immune response. In this case study, it certainly seemed to work!
My teachers from Shanghai used to say if you get a bruise with treatment, “it will give lasting results.” I always thought that was a bit of marketing, but I now think there was something to that!! Especially with what we now know about how acupuncture effects the immune system in allergies.
I may have to tool up my practice to be able to do this. It is certainly safe with little downside.
Zhao B, Chen Y, Liao SM, Zheng JY, Yan SH, Zhang DS. Successfully treated recalcitrant atopic eczema with acupoint autohemotherapy: A case report and hypothesized mechanism of the therapy. J Integr Med. 2022 Mar;20(2):182-186. doi: 10.1016/j.joim.2022.01.003. Epub 2022 Jan 13. PMID: 35101370.
Abstract
Acupoint autohemotherapy at bilateral Zusanli (ST36) and Xuehai (SP10) was used to treat a 26-year-old female patient who had suffered from recalcitrant atopic eczema (AE) for five years. The treatment was applied at a frequency of once per week for the first month, followed by a three-month period of once every other week. At the end of treatment, the patient’s AE symptoms were entirely resolved, and by the end of a six-month follow-up her immunoglobulin E level had returned to the normal range. Further, there was no relapse of AE symptoms during the six-month follow-up. Therefore, we hypothesized that after the repeated treatments the local inflammatory reaction induced by autologous blood injection triggered a local immune response, followed by a systemic immune response after the repeated treatment, finally leading to the anti-inflammation and immunomodulation effects. This case suggests that acupoint autohemotherapy could be used as an effective complementary treatment for recalcitrant AE, especially in cases where other treatments have failed. Further comparative studies are needed to corroborate the value and mechanisms of this therapy.
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