Narrow Results

Cystic fibrosis is the most commonly occurring genetic disorder among Caucasians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture for pain management in patients with cystic fibrosis; clinical data was obtained regarding the integration of acupuncture into the management of pain in patients with cystic fibrosis. Visual analog scales were used for pain measurement. Acupuncture was found to be effective in decreasing pain complaints in patients with cystic fibrosis. No side effects or complications were reported in relation to the acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is effective for managing symptoms and illnesses associated with cystic fibrosis. Further randomized controlled trials will be necessary to evaluate additional efficacy in pain management and the improvement of the quality of life of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Acupuncture at the Neiguan (P6) point has been shown to lessen nausea and vomiting which are related to vagal modulation. This study investigated whether acupuncture at the P6 point could improve vagal modulation by using heart rate variability analysis. We compared the heart rate variability measures of 39 subjects receiving acupuncture at the P6 point, 38 subjects receiving sham acupuncture, and 34 subjects receiving no treatment at all. The normalized high-frequency power was used as the index of vagal modulation, and the low-/high-frequency power ratio was used as the index of sympathovagal balance. The normalized high-frequency power after acupuncture increased significantly from 28.1±12.6 nu (mean±SD) to 30.7±14.1 nu in the P6 acupuncture group, but not in the sham acupuncture (30.6±13.7 nu versus 31.8±13.8 nu) or no-treatment group (30.1±15.0 nu versus 30.1±15.7 nu). In both the P6 and sham acupuncture groups, the mean RR interval (the intervals between consecutive R waves in the electrocardiogram) increased significantly after acupuncture. In the no-treatment group, there was no statistical difference in all heart rate variability measures in the initial and later sessions. In conclusion, acupuncture at the P6 point can increase vagal modulation of the subjects. This result may be helpful in the understanding of the mechanism underlying the effect of acupuncture or acupressure at P6 on the lessening of nausea and vomiting in clinic.

Osteoporosis is a worldwide problem that is increasing significantly as the global population both increases and ages. While osteoporosis has been extensively studied in recent years, the utilization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of this condition has seldom been examined. This paper examines the theories and the literature that relate to diagnosis, prevention and treatment of bone loss at the time of menopause according to the principles of TCM. It also considers practical developments in these areas as illustrated by the authors' research findings in recent studies. TCM diagnosis attributes a number of different underlying patterns to menopausal bone loss. A very common pattern in this situation is a Kidney qi and yin deficiency pattern. TCM analysis can be used as an early determinant of those persons who are potentially at risk of bone loss. Acupuncture, herbal medicine and Tai Ji exercise can then be applied to prevent and treat osteoporosis. These treatments can be effective, if they are applied correctly. The therapies may also be used in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis, as well as the general maintenance of women's health during menopause.

Previous experience of acupuncture is believed to affect people's expectation of future treatments. Therefore, subjects who have had acupuncture are generally excluded from sham-controlled acupuncture clinical trials. However, this assumption has not been proven, but just accepted because of the lack of evidence to the contrary. To investigate the difference in frequency and intensity of acupuncture sensation between subjects who have had acupuncture and those who have not, 36 acupuncture-experienced subjects were invited to take part in the study. After informed consent was obtained, participants were asked to complete the acupuncture sensation scale (ASS) according to what they expected needling to feel like. The needling was done at the left Hegu (LI 4) point and consisted of insertion, stimulation for 30 seconds and removal. After needling, the subjects were asked to complete the same ASS according to what they actually experienced. Adverse events were monitored. The frequency of each sensation expected and experienced, as well as acupuncture sensation scores were compared. More than 60% of the subjects expected to feel sensations of penetrating (87.6% to 100%), aching (71.2% to 95.5%), tingling (87.6% to 100%), pricking (79.7% to 99.2%) and throbbing (64.2% to 91.4%). In fact, the subjects experienced sharp (60.9% to 89.1%), intense (60.9% to 89.1%), radiating (71.2% to 95.5%) and heavy (74.8% to 97.4%) sensations just as much. The subjects expected more hurting (p=0.001), tingling (p<0.001), pricking (p=0.010), stinging (p=0.012), burning (p=0.001) and pulsing (p=0.009) than they experienced, while more heaviness (p=0.011) was experienced than expected. The same outcome measures were also compared between experienced and naïve groups. Apart from the fact that the acupuncture-experienced participants expected to feel pricking (p=0.030) and stinging (p=0.002), and experienced hurting (p=0.022) and stinging (p=0.028) significantly less than those who had not had acupuncture before, there was no significant difference between first time and experienced subjects. The results indicate that previous experience does not affect the people's expectation and does not hinder people from experiencing Deqi. In addition, a constellation of Deqi-related acupuncture-specific sensations is more than just a general pain intensity dimension, which requires a biochemical and physiological exploration.

Acupuncture therapy is based on the principle of restoring equilibrium of the body's energy state by regulating the flow of Qi in the corresponding meridians and acupoints. The purpose of this study was to determine whether bio-energy transfer occurs during acupuncture of the meridians. We treated 20 normal healthy subjects with acupuncture and measured changes in the direct current (DC) potential between the stomach meridian points ST-39 and ST-37 in response to invasive insertion of a needle at ST-36. Using a crossover study design, the practitioner performed the procedure on each subject once with bare (uncovered) hands (ABH) and once wearing surgical gloves (ASH) to shield the electric energy transfer. ABH produced a response pattern to each stimulation, whereas ASH produced a response pattern only to the first step. ABH elicited a significantly higher response potential than did ASH (p < 0.001). These results suggest that there may be bio-energy (Qi) transfer during acupuncture along the meridians. This transferred bio-energy (Qi) seems to act as an electromotive force, which is purported to remove the stagnation or blockage of energy and restore an equilibrium state.

The acupoint, GB34, located in the back of the knee, is known to be effective in recovering motor function after a stroke. This study uses a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with 3T scanner to investigate whether or not acupuncture of GB34 produces a significant response of the modulation of somatomotor areas. A fMRI of the whole brain was performed in ten normal healthy subjects during two task stimulations of acupuncture manipulation on GB34 and sham points, inserting and twisting the needle for 25 seconds at a rate of approximately 120 times per minute; the needle manipulation was paused for a duration of 25 seconds as a control state. The process was repeated four times to have four epochs of stimulation. Bilateral sensorimotor areas (BA 3, 4, 6 and 7) showed approximately 6% of stimulation-related BOLD signal contrast, whereas very few areas were activated when sham stimulation was given. Acupuncture stimulation in GB34 modulates the cortical activities of the somatomotor area in humans. The present findings may shed light on the CNS mechanism of motor function by acupuncture, and form a basis for future investigations of motor modulation circuits in stroke patients.

Based on the electromagnetic model of the transmission line for the channel and the birdcage resonator for the meridian network, we interpret two effects, seemingly incomprehensible in terms of current Western physiology, the lasting effect and the remote effect. For the lasting effect, acupuncture enhances the amplitude of the Qi standing wave, and this increased amplitude is retained and thus is able to sustain a gradual remodeling of the extracellular matrix in interstitial connective tissues, resulting in a lasting therapeutic effect. For the remote effect (acupuncture effect far from the site of needle insertion), our model puts the mechanism of magnetic therapy on an equal footing with that of acupuncture. It may not be a coincidence that accounts of investigators in both acupuncture and magnetotherapy about the depth of the effective site — along cleavage planes between muscles, or between muscle and bone or tendon — are in accord with that of the Huang Di Nei Jing about the course of channels: "they are embedded and travel between interstitial muscles, deep and invisible." A possible magnetic field generated outside the birdcage may be manipulated to produce local areas of higher temperature or very strong fields.

Locating acupuncture points reliably and reproducibly is indispensable for the scientific research of acupuncture and for assuring the best care of patients. Unreliable point location can produce confounding results for acupuncture research and clinical practice. Two traditional methods of point location are currently used, directional (F-cun) and proportional (B-cun) methods, which are collectively called the cun measurement system. Reports have been published on the validity of the cun measurement system in Australian subjects; however, as acupuncture originated in ancient East China, it is possible that anthropometric data may differ in Asian people and other races. Therefore, we measured anthropometric data according to the cun measurement system in contemporary Korean patients. The F-cun measurements were significantly different from the B-cun measurements and varied significantly according to the arbitrarily selected F-cun standard. In addition, we observed further differences of F-cun measurements in the extremities of obese subjects. We concluded that the F-cun method is unreliable and that further research should be conducted to determine a more accurate point-locating method primarily based on the B-cun method.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in bio-potential in the stomach meridians of 20 normal healthy control subjects (NHC) and 20 patients with gastric disease (PGD). We measured changes in potential between ST-39 and ST-37 on the stomach meridian in response to invasive insertion of a needle at ST-36. The response patterns of NHC were regular in both the left and right meridians, whereas the response patterns of PGD were irregular. The potential of the NHC was significantly higher than that of the PGD group. The potential values in the left and right meridians of NHC were the same. However, the potential in the right meridian was significantly higher than that in the left meridian of PGD (p < 0.001). This study indicates that there may be changes in Qi or in the electrical properties of meridians according to health status, reflected in the regularity of the response to acupuncture or in the level of potential along meridians. Therefore, it may be possible to make a diagnosis from the state of a meridian by comparing levels of potential difference and its regularity.

Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the treatment of many functional disorders including alcohol abuse. In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in the striatum and the nucleus accumbens (NAC) of rats were investigated. During 3 days of cessation following chronic administration of ethanol (3 g/kg, i.p. for 3 weeks), rats showed a significant increase in AWS, such as hypermotility, tail rigidity, grooming and tremor, and an increase in FLI in the dopamine terminal areas of the brain. Treatment with acupuncture at zusanli (ST36) or sanyinjiao (SP6) during the withdrawal period inhibited both AWS and FLI of rats undergoing ethanol injection. These results suggest that acupuncture may be useful in the treatment of alcoholism by modulating post-synaptic neural activation in the striatum and NAC.

The present study was designed as a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of acupuncture and silver spike point (SSP) electro-therapy on dry eye syndrome. A total of 43 dry eye syndrome patients participated in the present study. Subjects were divided into control, acupuncture and SSP electro-therapy groups. The three groups were all given artificial tears treatment. Patients in the treatment groups were given two 20-minute treatments of either acupuncture or SSP. Assessment was carried out using the Basal Schirmer test, tear break-up time (BUT), visual analog scale (VAS) and an overall score of eye condition. After four weeks of treatment, both the acupuncture and SSP treatment groups showed improvements over the control group, in Schirmer tests of the left eye and average tearing of both eyes. After 8 weeks of treatment, both treatment groups showed improvements over the control group both in Schirmer tests and VAS. For the right eye, treatment groups showed significant improvements in Schirmer test and VAS versus the control group averages for both eyes. There was no significant difference in BUT at any time. Comparing scores before and after treatment, the acupuncture and SSP groups showed a significant improvement compared to the control group. The acupuncture group showed a greater 8-week improvement in Schirmer tests scores compared to the SSP group. However, the SSP group patients used fewer applications of artificial tears. Acupuncture and SSP electro-therapy were effective in increasing tear secretion in patients with dry eye syndrome. The SSP electro-therapy not only alleviated dry eye syndrome, but also reduced the number of applications of artificial tears necessary.

Patients usually fear fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FBS) and they report a low level of satisfaction after this examination. We evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture in decreasing patient anxiety before diagnostic FBS and in improving tolerance to the examination. In a prospective double-blind study, we enrolled 48 patients scheduled to undergo diagnostic FBS. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group A (16 patients): standard FBS, with airway topic anesthesia; Group B (16 patients): standard FBS, with airway topic anesthesia and acupuncture treatment; Group C (16 patients): standard FBS, with airway topic anesthesia and sham acupuncture. EKG, non-invasive arterial pressure, and pulse oximetry were monitored on a routine basis. We evaluated patient anxiety before and after acupuncture and, at the end of FBS, the discomfort suffered during the examination by a 100-mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

Patient satisfaction in Group A was 50% worse than in Group B (p = 0.04). We observed a strong, even if not statistically significant, tendency toward a lower pre-FBS anxiety in Group B. Patients in group C had values very close to those recorded in group A. We observed no adverse event and no differences in cardio-respiratory parameters in these three groups; in particular, we did not observe a respiratory depression in Group B.

Acupuncture seems an effective resource for a Thoracic Endoscopic Room to improve patient tolerance to FBS.

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) is a primary center, not only for receiving visceral afferents, but also for somatic afferents. Previous experiments demonstrated that NTS might be a primary afferent center for connecting the Stomach Meridian (ST Medirian) and the Stomach. In this study, an extracellular recording method was used to analyze the firing neurons. The variety of NTS' neurons' responses to gastric distention (GD) and different body surface points were compared. In 52 rats, 104 firing neurons of NTS were recorded, in which there were 47 GD related neurons. For the 47 GD related neurons, there were 33 neurons responsive to acupuncture at Sibai (ST 2, belonging to ST Meridian). Therefore, in the 47 GD related neurons, the response neuron occurring rate (RNOR) for acupuncture at ST 2 was 70.21%. Meanwhile in the 47 GD related neurons, when acupuncture was performed at Quanliao (SI 18, belonging to Small Intestine Meridian) and non-acupoint respectively, there were 18 and 17 firing neurons, and the RNOR were 38.30% and 36.17% respectively. The experiment demonstrated that there were some varieties in the response of NTS neurons to GD stimuli and acupuncture at different body surface points, which suggested that the ST Meridian was more intimately linked to the Stomach and that the different acupoints do have some specificity.

The effects of aging and acupuncture on brain MT1 and MT3 mRNA levels in senescence-accelerated mice (SAMP10) and accelerated senescence resistant mice (SAMR1) were analyzed by Northern blot analysis. Both MT1 and MT3 mRNA levels in SAMR1 were increased significantly from birth to month 4 and decreased gradually thereafter. In SAMP10, the MT3 mRNA level followed the same pattern as in SAMR1 before month 4, then decreased from month 4 to 6, but was over-expressed and exceeded the previous level at month 8. The MT1 mRNA expression in SAMP10 showed a zigzag pattern. Of two groups of SAMP10 mice treated with acupuncture, the Xingnao group (PC6 and Du26 as acupoints) and the Zibuganshen group (BL18 and BL23 as acupoints), both showed a higher MT1 mRNA level and a lower MT3 mRNA level than the age-matched control group. Meanwhile, in both of the acupuncture groups, the ratios of MT3 to MT1 were down-regulated to the normal range. Overall, these results suggested that over-expression of MT3 mRNA and the increase in MT3 to MT1 ratios in SAMP10 were correlated with aging, and could be an important physiological and pathological event in the aging process. Acupuncture altered the expression levels of MT1 and MT3 mRNA and differences between the effects of the two stimulated acupoints were seen. Therefore, maintenance of the balance between MTs mRNA expression and correct MTs concentrations is crucial for brain-endocrine-immune response and normal aging. Acupuncture could improve zinc ion bioavailability, by maintaining the balance between MT1 and MT3 mRNA expression levels and might explain one of the mechanisms by which acupuncture treatments defer aging and treat some age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

The integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine and their clinical effects have been widely evaluated. Many studies have shown that using a combination of these two remedies has resulted in better outcomes than using only one of them. Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical technique, which plays an important role in enforcing pain control, prevention and functional improvement. In 1979, the World Health Organization (WHO) journal introduced acupuncture as a remedy for 43 diseases, including frozen shoulder. This study aims to assess the therapeutic outcomes of combining acupuncture and physical therapy to treat frozen shoulder, and hopes to establish an evidence-based study of the integration of acupuncture and western medicine in the future.

A total of 75 frozen shoulder patients treated in a medical center were recruited for the study between January 2002 and December 2002. The average age of these patients was 54.8 years. The average duration of the condition was 25.8 weeks before treatment. Of the 75 patients, 30 were treated by physical therapy, 30 by acupuncture and 15 by both remedies. Before the treatment began, all patients were evaluated by assessing static pain scale, motion pain scale, active and passive ROM (range of motion) and quality of life scale sheet SF-36 (Short Form-36). The outcome was evaluated by follow-up assessments conducted at the 2nd week and 4th week of treatment sessions.

All patients showed improvement in quality of life (Short Form-36). Pain was controlled better by acupuncture while ROM improved following physical therapy. However, patients treated by both methods had the best outcome.

The integration of acupuncture and physical therapy to treat frozen shoulder leads to a better outcome than using only one method. The author suggests that an evidence-based foundation of the integration of Chinese and Western medicine should be established in the future, to encourage the integration of Chinese and Western medicine.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether pain-induced brain activation was suppressed by acupuncture analgesia. We investigated the suppression of the pain-induced neuronal activation in specific brain areas of three male rhesus monkeys (aged four years old) using positron emission tomography (PET), in which changes in the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were examined as an index of the neuronal activation. The brain areas such as the thalamus, insula and anterior cingulate cortex were activated by heating the tail of monkeys in 47°C water compared to the heating at 37°C. Those activations were suppressed by electroacupuncture (EA) with a 2 sec alteration of the frequency of 4 Hz/60 Hz at the right ST36 (the upper anterior tibial muscle) and the right LI4 (the back palm between the first and second metacarpal) acupoints. Meanwhile, this EA analgesic effect was confirmed by prolonging the tail withdrawal latencies from hot water in the temperature range from 45 to 50°C.These brain areas were corresponded to the pain-related areas as reported in previous studies. In conclusion, we were able to visualize the acupuncture analgesia in the CNS. We also detected the brain areas activated or inactivated by acupuncture. The areas that responded to acupuncture stimulation at 47°C water were different from the regions at 37°C. We consider that this difference in the response to acupuncture may support the variation of the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in patients bearing pain or other disorders.

Clinically, acupuncture therapy is useful for the control of acute or chronic pain. This study was designed to elucidate the antinociceptive mechanism of acupuncture and the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular reflex elicited by toothache. Expression of c-Fos, a neuronal activation marker, and the phenylethanalamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT) were examined 1.5 hours after noxious intrapulpal tooth stimulation. Manual acupuncture was performed 20 min before noxious intrapulpal stimulation by 2 M KCl injection into upper or lower anterior tooth pulp. The acupuncture points were Li4 (Hegu) between the 1st and 2nd metacarpal bones or St36 (Zusanli) between the anterior crest of the tibial tuberosity and the fibula head below the patella. After noxious intrapulpal tooth stimulation, Fos-immunoreactive (IR) neurons were identified in the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc) and the transitional region between the subnucleus caudalis and the subnucleus interpolaris (Vi), in the inferior olivory nucleus (IO) connecting the cerebellum and other brain regions, and also the thalamic ventral posteromedial (VPM) nucleus and centrolateral (CL) nucleus, respectively. In addition, Fos-IR neurons were found in the central cardiovasuclar regulation centers, such as the hypothalamus supraoptic nucleus (SON) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and rostral ventromedulla (RVLM). All acupuncture at St36 or Li4 significantly suppressed Fos-IR neurons in all Fos-expressed brain areas except the IO nucleus and attenuated the increases in arterial blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) after noxious intrapulpal stimulation. Its Fos-suppressive effects were mostly blocked by naloxone, an opioid antagonist. In addition, acupuncture at St36 or Li4 significantly decreased Fos-containing PNMT, and this effect was also reversed by naloxone. These results suggest that: 1) tooth pulpal noxious signals transmit to the Vc and Vc/Vi transitional region and the 2nd afferent neuron synapse in the thalamic VPM and CL, 2) tooth pulpal pain elicits cardiovascular reflex mediated by NTS, VLM, hypothalamic SON and PVN, and 3) acupuncture reduces cardiovascular reflex elicited by toothache, is associated with the adrenergic system.

The effectiveness of acupuncture remains a controversial issue. The aim of this article is to evaluate trends over time in the development of the evidence-base of acupuncture. A comparison of two series of systematic reviews was conducted. The first related to the evidence-base in 2000, the second related to 2005. Both employed virtually the same methodology and criteria for evaluation. The results indicate that the evidence base has increased for 13 of the 26 conditions included in this comparison. For 7 indications it has become more positive (i.e. favoring acupuncture) and for 6 it had changed in the opposite direction. It is concluded, that acupuncture research is active. The emerging clinical evidence seems to imply that acupuncture is effective for some but not all conditions.

The aim of the study was to evaluate cardiovascular effects and fetal behavior during moxibustion, acupuncture or acupuncture plus moxibustion applied on the BL.67 acupoint of women (beside the outer corner of the 5th toenail) in fetal breech presentation. During the acupoint stimulation (20 min, two times a week), the women were submitted to computerized non-stress test. Fourteen cases were treated by both acupuncture and moxibustion, 15 cases by moxibustion and 10 cases by acupuncture. In 56% of cases, fetal position was converted from breech position to cephalic one; the success share was 80% for moxibustion, 28% for acupuncture, 57% for acupuncture plus moxibustion; the conversion, on average, was achieved after 3 sessions. Statistical analysis indicated that acupuncture plus moxibustion was able to reduce fetal heart rate during the application of stimuli while acupuncture and moxibustion separately did not affect such parameter. Moreover, moxibustion and acupuncture with moxibustion reduced fetal movements while acupuncture only appears ineffective. The present study suggests that fetal movements were reduced by both acupuncture plus moxibustion and moxibustion and that fetal heart rate was reduced just by acupuncture plus moxibustion. The mechanisms leading the effect on fetal heart rate and fetal movements remain to be clarified. Even though further studies are needed, such preliminar report mainly investigated the impact of different stimula on the BL.67 acupoint. Unfortunately these small series of data do not allow us to draw any conclusion about the effectiveness of the different treatments.

It is presently accepted that emotional disturbances lead to immune system impairment, and that therefore their treatment could restore the immune response. Thus, the aim of the present work was to study the effect of an acupuncture treatment, designed specifically to relieve the emotional symptoms stemming from anxiety, on several functions (adherence, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, basal and stimulated superoxide anion levels, lymphocyte proliferation in response to phytohemagglutinin A (PHA) and natural killer (NK) activity) of leukocytes (neutrophils and lymphocytes) from anxious women. The acupuncture protocol consisted of manual needle stimulation of 19 acupoints, with each session lasting 30 min. It was performed on 34 female 30–60 year old patients, suffering from anxiety, as determined by the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Before and 72 hours after receiving the first acupuncture session, peripheral blood samples were drawn. In 12 patients, samples were also collected immediately after the first single acupuncture session and one month after the end of the whole acupuncture treatment, which consisted of 10 sessions during a year, until the complete remission of anxiety. Twenty healthy non-anxious women in the same age range were used as controls. The results showed that the most favorable effects of acupuncture on the immune functions appear 72 hours after the single session and persist one month after the end of the complete treatment. Impaired immune functions in anxious women (chemotaxis, phagocytosis, lymphoproliferation and NK activity) were significantly improved by acupuncture, and augmented immune parameters (superoxide anion levels and lymphoproliferation of the patient subgroup whose values had been too high) were significantly diminished. Acupuncture brought the above mentioned parameters to values closer to those of healthy controls, exerting a modulatory effect on the immune system.