This photo provided by the Gwangju Association of Korean Medicine shows a Korean medicine doctor performing cupping therapy.
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Korean and American research teams have succeeded in raising the effects of a COVID-19 vaccine by a factor of 100 through the oriental medicine practice of cupping, which is normally used to treat muscle pain.
A joint research team led by Prof. Hao Lin from Rutgers University and Dr. Joel Maslow, Chief Medical Officer of South Korean drug firm GeneOne Life Science Inc. confirmed following animal trials that after being inoculated with a DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, applying negative pressure on the skin strengthens immune reactions.
The outcome of the study was recently published in scientific journal Science Advance.
The research team inoculated a rat with a COVID-19 vaccine currently being developed by GeneOne Life Science and placed a small cup on the rat’s skin to suck and pump for 30 seconds, similarly to how cupping works in oriental medicine.
As a result, 100 times more antibodies were created than without cupping.
“The cup pulls on and relaxes the skin, which seems to have led cells to accept more external particles,” the research team said. “We tried the same cupping on one of the researchers, and it wasn’t painful at all.”
Unlike mRNA vaccines that should be kept cold, DNA vaccines are stable enough to be stored at room temperatures.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
