The existence of so-called acupuncture points on the surface of the human body has been known in China for over 5,000 years, and the first written documents on acupuncture date back to the 1st century BC. Today, acupuncture is widely known, which involves inserting needles into acupuncture points to affect various pathological conditions (most often to relieve pain) and is a form of alternative medicine. Studies on many vertebrates (horses, dogs, cats) have confirmed the presence of acupuncture points on their surfaces.

Evolution lasted for many millions of years and culminated in the emergence of Homo sapiens. And throughout this period, along with the formation of all known systems of the human body, the system of acupuncture points on the surface of the human body also formed. Over the past period, the topography and anatomy of acupuncture points (APs) have been studied, the connections of the APs with the meridian system and various internal organs have been identified, and the morphological features of the APs that distinguish them from the surrounding skin have been examined. The only thing that remains unknown is the importance of acupuncture points in the body's life support, their function in humans and other vertebrates (possibly in all living beings on our planet), and these issues have not been studied. For what purpose do they exist on the surface of humans and vertebrates? What function do they actually perform?

  Research in recent years has shown that APs differ from the surrounding skin in their electrical characteristics, which contributed to various electroacupuncture diagnostics measuring electrical conductivity at these points. It has been established that AP's electrical conductivity depends on the function of the human body and changes in various pathological conditions. Of the known methods of electropuncture diagnostics (ED), the most interesting is the method of electroacupuncture diagnostics developed by Dr. Voll (EAV) (1956). The difference from existing ED methods in the diagnosis of EAV is that the author connected an extremely low-intensity electromagnetic field in the form of a honeycomb on the external panel of the device, which made it possible to develop a method of medicine testing .

Medicament testing 

Medicament testing involves studying the reaction of altered skin conductivity at an acupuncture point to the remote impact of various drugs (homeopathic and allopathic) used in medicament testing. A special feature of medicament testing is the possibility of individual drug selection, as well as selection of single and daily doses of drugs.

In infectious pathology, nosodes (homeopathy) of multiple antigens (viruses, bacteria, fungi) and various allopathic antiviral, antibiotic, and antifungal drugs are used in the testing process. To study the possibilities of medicament testing (MT) for diagnosing infectious pathology, we studied a group of patients with a verified diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C virus infection(CHCV). During MT, the daily dose of sofosbuvir (a drug that suppresses the activity of NS5B RNA polymerase, a protein responsible for the reproduction of the hepatitis C virus) was determined. A correlation was made between the viral load in blood and the results we obtained.

To conduct medicament testing (MT), 61 patients with CHCV infection from the Institute of Virology outpatient department were included, selected by random sampling.

The acupuncture points we selected for diagnostic purposes are consistent with both classical Chinese acupuncture and Voll's recommendations for the selected points. The first point of acupuncture we selected was the classical Chinese acupuncture point known as Xingjian(F2, Liver meridian). In classical Chinese acupuncture, the use of this point of acupuncture is recommended to help the patient by inserting the tiny needle in this point in the presence of complaints such as liver pain, impaired liver function, vomiting, nausea, constipation, and dyspepsia. Voll described the new application of this acupuncture point for measuring electrical conductivity, if necessary, as "liver cells and lobules".  Given the possibility of extrahepatic replication of the hepatitis C virus, we chose the second acupuncture point, which is located on the Pericardial meridian (according to Chinese medicine). However, in classical Chinese medicine, this acupuncture point does not exist; Voll's research discovered and named it the "thoracic lymphatic duct". Viral hepatitis C is one of the leading causes of chronic liver diseases. Extrahepatic HCV replication is most likely associated with HCV damage to peripheral mononuclear cells, where HCV RNA can be stored for an extended period, potentially causing relapses of viral hepatitis after successful antiviral therapy and possibly contributing to the chronicity of the hepatitis C virus in the patient’s body. 

Clarification of the hepatitis C virus on the selected points of acupuncture was made by application of nosodes of the hepatitis C virus, antibodies to the hepatitis C virus,  nosode of RNA polymeraVoll recommended conducting the measurement of electrical activity at this point of acupuncture as the point of acupuncture of "liver cells and lobules" in C30 potency, and sofosbuvir ( 400mg, tablets). Voll recommended using medicine testing for the selection of optimal doses of drugs. It is the first time we use medicament testing to determine the daily doses of medicine. As an allopathic drug, we chose the hepatitis C virus polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir. Viral load decoding was performed according to accepted quantitative recommendations for determining the amount of HCV RNA in a patient's blood to determine the activity of the infection. A positive result indicates the virus is actively replicating and multiplying in the body.

In each tested AP, the readings of the EAV device were recorded below the standard indicators of the electroacupuncture apparatus, which were displayed in analog form on the light strip. They were interpreted as a hypoergic reaction, corresponding to the energy deficiency concept. Placing sofosbuvir in the honeycomb of the EAV device in 100% of cases resulted in the device readings returning to the normal range, indicating the restoration of energy balance in the studied APs. Having confirmed the positive response of the measured AP to sofosbuvir, we then selected the daily dose of the drug using the method we have developed.

The  results we obtained

As our results demonstrated, there was a direct correlation between the tested daily doses of sofosbuvir and the level of viral load in patients with low and moderate severity of viral load; the higher the tested dose of sofosbuvir, the higher the viral load in this group of patients. Deciphering the viral load for hepatitis C (copies/mL) was carried out according to generally accepted recommendations:

Degree severity          Viral load in copies/mL

Low                                          600 to 30,000 copies/ml

Moderate                           30,000 to 800,000 copies/ml

High                                         over 800,000 copies/ml

Determination of the closeness of the relationship using the correlation coefficient demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between the tested daily doses of sofosbuvir and low and medium viral load levels in patients with CHCV infection. In this group of patients, the correlation coefficient was r = 0.83 according to the Chaddock scale, which corresponds to a high (strong) positive correlation. In contrast, in the group of patients with high viral load, the correlation became weak at r = 0.27, indicating no relationship between the viral load dose and the tested dose of sofosbuvir. To understand the strength of the relationship between viral load and the tested doses of sofosbuvir (400 mg), we calculated the determination coefficient R (r2), which was R = 0.68, meaning that in 68% of patients, the variability of the tested doses of sofosbuvir depended on the level of viral load.

Conclusions

Despite the small sample size and low objectivity, this pilot study found a significant association between electrodermal measurement of acupuncture points using the Voll electropuncture diagnostic device and the tested daily doses of the antiviral drug sofosbuvir. Medicament testing for the Xingjian acupuncture point (Chinese Medicine) and the thoracic lymphatic duct acupuncture point (meridian circulation, Voll) can help determine the daily doses of drugs in patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection. These findings suggest that acupuncture points may have diagnostic properties and can be used to determine daily drug doses for disease prognosis.

The results we obtained allowed us to express our point of view. It is assumed that the electric field inherent in the acupuncture point interacts with the electromagnetic field of the drug, which is activated under the influence of a weak electromagnetic field of the EAV's honeycomb, when the drug is placed in its cells. The resulting interaction leads to the summation of both fields, which affects the readings of the EAV device. An essential condition is the proper selection of the drug being tested. In our case, it was sofosbuvir, a drug used in the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection. Therefore, the acupuncture point exhibits, in our opinion, its informational properties, since the result obtained is a product of the interaction of electromagnetic fields of two different objects.
 

References 

Djumaeva, N., Akhundjanova, G., Djumaeva, L. et al. Medicament testing on acupuncture points as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for determining the daily doses of sofosbuvir in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Futur J Pharm Sci 9, 62 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43094-023-00514-z