INS and Insulin resistance: There is an increasing consensus suggesting that acupuncture can reduce blood glucose levels in T2DM by improving insulin sensitivity, ameliorating insulin resistance, inhibiting pancreatic β-cell apoptosis, and modulating insulin signaling pathways (Yingjie et al., 2020; Zhuang et al., 2022; Xu et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2024).