ReviewFrontiers in endocrinology2025
Acupuncture for diabetic nephropathy: mechanisms, clinical evidence, and future perspectives.
Review in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Exploring the potential targets and mechanisms of artemisinin in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease using network pharmacology and molecular docking.Functional & integrative genomics · 2026Article
- Efficacy of warm acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis.Medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) remains a leading cause of end-stage renal disease despite guideline-based therapy. Acupuncture has been explored as an adjunct or alternative approach. We reviewed preclinical and clinical studies (2010-2025) on acupuncture for DN, summarizing mechanisms, intervention models (acupuncture alone; with Chinese medicine; with Western medicine; triple therapy), renal outcomes, and safety. Across animal and human data, acupuncture modulates immune-inflammatory and metabolic pathways-including HMGB1/NLRP3/NF-κB, SIRT1/AMPK/PGC-1α, eNOS-NO-cGMP, and autophagy (ULK1-Beclin-1-LC3)-enhances antioxidant defenses (SOD↑, MDA/8-OHdG↓), protects podocytes, and improves microcirculation. Clinically, it is associated with reductions in proteinuria (24-h UP, UACR/UAER), improvements in renal function (Scr, BUN, eGFR), and better metabolic control and symptoms. Combined regimens (with Chinese or Western medicines) tend to yield faster or broader benefits, with no serious adverse events reported in the included studies. Evidence quality is limited by small sample sizes, single-center designs, short follow-up, heterogeneous endpoints, and incomplete safety reporting. Acupuncture shows multi-target, complementary effects for DN and may be integrated with standard care. High-quality, multicenter randomized controlled trials with standardized endpoints (e.g., proteinuria, eGFR slope), robust safety monitoring, and embedded mechanistic assessments are warranted.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.