Marc Petitpierre1, Ludwig Stenz2, Ariane Paoloni-Giacobino3. 1. General Medicine, Acupuncture and Chinese Pharmacotherapy Office, Rolle, Switzerland. 2. Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ludwig.stenz@unige.ch. 3. Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The effects of acupuncture treatment in patients suffering from burnout may imply an epigenetic control mediated by DNA methylation changes. In this observational study, a genome-wide characterization of epigenetic changes in blood DNA, before and after acupuncture treatment, was performed in a cohort of 11 patients suffering from burnout. METHODS: Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and DNA was extracted from blood samples and analyzed by Illumina EPIC BeadChip. RESULTS: Before acupuncture, all patients suffered of emotional exhaustion (EE) (MBI-EE score, 44 ± 6), 81% suffered of depersonalization (DP) (MBI-DP score, 16 ± 6), and 72% of low feelings of personal accomplishment (PA) (MBI-PA score, 29 ± 9). After acupuncture, all MBI dimensions improved significantly (EE, 16 ± 11 [p = 1.5 × 10-4]; DP, 4 ± 5 [p = 5.3 × 10-4]; and PA, 40 ± 6 [p = 4.1 × 10-3]). For each patient, both methylomes obtained before and after acupuncture co-clustered in the multidimensional scaling plot, indicating a high level of similarity. Genes corresponding to the 10 most differentially methylated CpGs showed enrichment in the brain dopaminergic signaling, steroid synthesis and in the insulin sensitivity pathways. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture treatment was found to be highly effective on all burnout dimensions and the epigenetic targets identified were involved in some major disturbances of this syndrome. The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.
INTRODUCTION: The effects of acupuncture treatment in patients suffering from burnout may imply an epigenetic control mediated by DNA methylation changes. In this observational study, a genome-wide characterization of epigenetic changes in blood DNA, before and after acupuncture treatment, was performed in a cohort of 11 patients suffering from burnout. METHODS: Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and DNA was extracted from blood samples and analyzed by Illumina EPIC BeadChip. RESULTS: Before acupuncture, all patients suffered of emotional exhaustion (EE) (MBI-EE score, 44 ± 6), 81% suffered of depersonalization (DP) (MBI-DP score, 16 ± 6), and 72% of low feelings of personal accomplishment (PA) (MBI-PA score, 29 ± 9). After acupuncture, all MBI dimensions improved significantly (EE, 16 ± 11 [p = 1.5 × 10-4]; DP, 4 ± 5 [p = 5.3 × 10-4]; and PA, 40 ± 6 [p = 4.1 × 10-3]). For each patient, both methylomes obtained before and after acupuncture co-clustered in the multidimensional scaling plot, indicating a high level of similarity. Genes corresponding to the 10 most differentially methylated CpGs showed enrichment in the brain dopaminergic signaling, steroid synthesis and in the insulin sensitivity pathways. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture treatment was found to be highly effective on all burnout dimensions and the epigenetic targets identified were involved in some major disturbances of this syndrome. The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.
Authors: Alejandro Fernandez-Montero; David García-Ros; Ana Sánchez-Tainta; Ana Rodriguez-Mourille; Antonio Vela; Stefanos N Kales Journal: J Occup Environ Med Date: 2019-09 Impact factor: 2.162