Anti-inflammatory effect of electroacupuncture in the C3H/HeJ mouse model of alopecia areata.

Accumulating experimental evidence has indicated that electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation may enhance immune function in several animal models of inflammatory diseases. 2 However, there are few clinical data on EA stimulation for autoimmune diseases and the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of EA stimulation for autoimmune diseases remain unclear. Mast cells are the central players in allergic inflammation, and it has recently been reported that mast cells are involved in autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation. 4 Significant increases in mast cell degranulation were observed in these autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, severe mast cell degranulation and the accumulation of inflammatory cells around the anagen (growth phase) hair follicles were observed in autoimmune diseases such as the mouse model for alopecia areata (AA). This self-attack of the hair follicle cells by inflammatory cells changes the hair matrix cell phase to the telogen phase and results in hair loss. A previous