Acupunct Electrother Res. 1983 ; 8(3-4): 283-8.

Synergism between metoclopramide and electroacupuncture analgesia.

Xu ZB, Pan YY, Xu SF, Mo WY, Cao XD, He LF.

Animal experiments revealed that the activity of the cholinergic system in certain brain areas enhanced acupuncture analgesia (AA) while that of the dopaminergic system attenuated it. Metoclopramide, having antidopamine and anticholinesterase actions, was found to be synergic with AA both in the laboratory and in the clinics. Patients having taken metoclopramide reported better analgesic effect during thyroidectomy under acupuncture anesthesia. The results suggest that metoclopramide can be used as an adjuvant to improve AA.