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PubMed2005

Deqi sensation between the acupuncture-experienced and the naïve: a Korean study II.

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 naive 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↗
PubMed2001

Effect of electrical stimulation on acupuncture points in diabetic patients with gastric dysrhythmia: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Abnormal gastric slow-wave frequencies have been observed in diabetic gastroparesis and are associated with impaired antral motor activity. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the effect of acupuncture on gastric slow waves in diabetic patients with symptoms suggesting gastric motor dysfunction. METHODS: Fifteen patients with type II diabetes who had had dyspeptic symptoms for more than 3 months were enrolled. Two acupuncture needles were inserted into the subjects' legs at the Zusanli points, and electrical stimulation (2-Hz pulses) was delivered for 30 min. Cutaneous electrogastrography was performed for 30 min at baseline, for 30 min during acupuncture, and for an additional 30 min after acupuncture. Serum gastrin, motilin, and human pancreatic polypeptide levels were also measured. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the percentages of normal frequency during and after acupuncture (baseline vs. acupuncture and after acupuncture 21.99 +/- 19.38% vs. 45.93 +/- 19.72 and 48.92 +/- 19.56%; p < 0.01). In addition, the percentage of tachygastric frequency was decreased significantly during and after acupuncture. The dominant frequency was also changed significantly. There was an increase of serum human pancreatic polypeptide during acupuncture (baseline vs. acupuncture 56.96 +/- 27.64 vs. 73.11 +/- 22.37 pmol/l; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study revealed that electrical stimulation at the Zusanli points could increase the percentage of normal electrogastrography frequency and decrease the percentage of tachygastric frequency in diabetic patients. The data indicate that acupuncture may enhance the regularity of gastric myoelectrical activity in diabetic patients.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed2003

Acupuncture Randomized Trials (ART) in patients with chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee - design and protocols.

BACKGROUND: We report on the study design and protocols of two randomized controlled trials (Acupuncture Randomized Trials = ART) that investigate the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee, respectively. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether acupuncture is more efficacious than (a) no treatment or (b) minimal acupuncture in the treatment of low back pain and osteoarthritis. DESIGN: Two randomized, controlled, multicenter trials with three treatment arms and a total follow-up time of 52 weeks. SETTING: 30 practitioners and outpatient units in Germany specialized in acupuncture treatment. PATIENTS: 300 patients will be included in each study. In the low back pain trial, patients will be included according to clinical diagnosis. In the osteoarthritis pain trial, patients will be included according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. INTERVENTIONS: Patients are randomly assigned to receive either (1) semi-standardized acupuncture (150 patients), (2) minimal acupuncture at non-acupuncture points (75 patients), or (3) no treatment for two months followed by semi-standardized acupuncture (75 patients, waiting list control). Acupuncture treatment consists of 12 sessions per patient over a period of 8 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure is the difference between baseline and the end of the 8-week treatment period in the following parameters: pain intensity as measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-100 mm) in the low back pain trial and by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Score (WOMAC) in the osteoarthritis trial. OUTLOOK: The results of these two studies (available in 2004) will provide health care providers and policy makers with the information needed to make scientifically sound assessments of acupuncture therapy.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2006

Stop Hypertension with the Acupuncture Research Program (SHARP): results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial.

Case studies and small trials suggest that acupuncture may effectively treat hypertension, but no large randomized trials have been reported. The Stop Hypertension with the Acupuncture Research Program pilot trial enrolled 192 participants with untreated blood pressure (BP) in the range of 140/90 to 179/109 mm Hg. The design of the trial combined rigorous methodology and adherence to principles of traditional Chinese medicine. Participants were weaned off antihypertensives before enrollment and were then randomly assigned to 3 treatments: individualized traditional Chinese acupuncture, standardized acupuncture at preselected points, or invasive sham acupuncture. Participants received < or = 12 acupuncture treatments over 6 to 8 weeks. During the first 10 weeks after random assignment, BP was monitored every 14 days, and antihypertensives were prescribed if BP exceeded 180/110 mm Hg. The mean BP decrease from baseline to 10 weeks, the primary end point, did not differ significantly between participants randomly assigned to active (individualized and standardized) versus sham acupuncture (systolic BP: -3.56 versus -3.84 mm Hg, respectively; 95% CI for the difference: -4.0 to 4.6 mm Hg; P=0.90; diastolic BP: -4.32 versus -2.81 mm Hg, 95% CI for the difference: -3.6 to 0.6 mm Hg; P=0.16). Categorizing participants by age, race, gender, baseline BP, history of antihypertensive use, obesity, or primary traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis did not reveal any subgroups for which the benefits of active acupuncture differed significantly from sham acupuncture. Active acupuncture provided no greater benefit than invasive sham acupuncture in reducing systolic or diastolic BP.

Acupuncture↗
PubMed2002

Does acupuncture improve motor recovery after stroke? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acupuncture may be a promising treatment for poststroke paralysis. We conducted a meta-analysis, assessing the efficacy of acupuncture with and without stroke rehabilitation. METHODS: We identified randomized trials comparing acupuncture with no acupuncture within 6 months of stroke by searching MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Chinese medical literature databases. Two reviewers independently extracted data on study characteristics, patient characteristics, and impairment and disability outcomes. The outcome measures were internationally recognized or nationally approved. The fixed- and random-effects models were used to combine effect size and odds ratio across studies. RESULTS: Fourteen trials with 1213 patients met all the inclusion criteria. For the comparison of acupuncture with no acupuncture in addition to stroke rehabilitation, the pooled random-effects estimates of the change in motor impairment and disability were 0.06 (95% CI, -0.12 to 0.24) and 0.49 (95% CI, 0.03 to 0.96), respectively, with heterogeneity in disability measures (P=0.05, chi(2) test). For the comparison of real with sham acupuncture, the pooled random-effects estimate of the change in disability was 0.07 (95% CI, -0.34 to 0.48). For the comparison of acupuncture with no acupuncture without stroke rehabilitation, the pooled random-effects estimate of the change in motor impairment was 0.46 (95% CI, -0.20 to 1.12), and the pooled random-effects odds ratio for disability was 12.5 (95% CI, 4.3 to 36.2), with no statistically significant heterogeneity (P=0.97 and P=0.12, respectively, chi(2) test), but the study quality was poor. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that with stroke rehabilitation, acupuncture has no additional effect on motor recovery but has a small positive effect on disability, which may be due to a true placebo effect and varied study quality. The efficacy of acupuncture without stroke rehabilitation remains uncertain, mainly because of the poor quality of such studies.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1982

A critical overview of U.S. acupuncture regulation.

The ancient Oriental art and science of acupuncture, known in the U.S. for a decade, still is practiced here only to a limited extent and does not seem likely to spread. The primary reason, this article hypothesizes, is the stifling effect of acupuncture regulation, which typically prohibits trained nonphysician acupuncturists, mostly Orientals, from performing the therapy. Although all states permit licensed physicians to practice acupuncture with little or no training, few physicians have shown any interest in learning acupuncture and adding it to their practice. The result is that acupuncture services are scarce or unavailable in most states, and the public's newly recognized right to acupuncture treatment is therefore burdened or effectively denied. Current statutory and medical board regulation of acupuncture is described and evaluated from the standpoint of whether it encourages the practice of acupuncture by persons trained in the therapy. The article finds that both physician-limitation and supervised-practice regulations inhibit or eliminate acupuncture services, while acupuncture licensing laws foster availability of the therapy. The article recommends that states establish autonomous boards of acupuncture to license practitioners, and concludes that a coordinated national effort by acupuncturists and their lay and medical supporters will be necessary to achieve widespread adoption of licensing laws.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1998

Acupuncture for pain relief during childbirth.

BACKGROUND: There are few studies on acupuncture in childbirth despite the generally established analgesic effect of acupuncture treatment. METHODS: The analgesic effect of acupuncture during childbirth was assessed by comparing the need for other pain treatments (epidural analgesia using bupivacaine, pudendal nerve block, intramuscular meperidine, nitrous oxide/oxygen, intracutaneous sterile water injections) in 90 women given acupuncture (acupuncture group) with that in 90 women not given acupuncture (control group). RESULTS: 52 women (58%) in the acupuncture group and 13 (14%) in the control group managed their deliveries without further pain treatment (p < 0.001). The groups were similar with respect to age, pariety, duration of delivery, use of oxytocine and incidence of Caesarean section. Acupuncture treatment was found to have no major side effects, and 85 women (94%) given acupuncture reported that they would reconsider acupuncture in future deliveries. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture reduces the need for other methods of analgesia in childbirth.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2004

[Accidents in acupuncture treatment: history and current state].

Acupuncture is widely used as an alternative therapy with few side effects because of its simple manipulation and low cost. However, accidents may occur if the practitioner uses it improperly. Early in the Qin dynasty, the Canon of Medicine mentioned that improper use of acupuncture could cause injury to the body and even death, and it systematically described the occurrence and prevention of acupuncture accidents. Physicians in the successive dynasties frequently reported it, and realized that the manipulation skills were significantly important in preventing the occurrence of acupuncture accidents. Since the 1950s, acupuncture accidents had been effectively prevented because of the improving of acupuncture instruments, enhancing of the quality of the practitioners, popularizing of sterilization and disseminating of anatomic knowledge. Nevertheless, with the renovating of acupuncture techniques, new accidents may occur constantly. The prevention of acupuncture accidents still should be an arduous task for acupuncturists. Nowadays, acupuncture therapy is being used in more than 140 countries, and acupuncture accidents due to improper application are increasing. Prevention of acupuncture accidents has become a global issue deserving of great attention.

Acupuncture↗
PubMed2004

Effectiveness of acupuncture as adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture for reducing the pain and dysfunction of osteoarthritis is equivocal. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether acupuncture provides greater pain relief and improved function compared with sham acupuncture or education in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Two outpatient clinics (an integrative medicine facility and a rheumatology facility) located in academic teaching hospitals and 1 clinical trials facility. PATIENTS: 570 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee (mean age [+/-SD], 65.5 +/- 8.4 years). INTERVENTION: 23 true acupuncture sessions over 26 weeks. Controls received 6 two-hour sessions over 12 weeks or 23 sham acupuncture sessions over 26 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes were changes in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain and function scores at 8 and 26 weeks. Secondary outcomes were patient global assessment, 6-minute walk distance, and physical health scores of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). RESULTS: Participants in the true acupuncture group experienced greater improvement in WOMAC function scores than the sham acupuncture group at 8 weeks (mean difference, -2.9 [95% CI, -5.0 to -0.8]; P = 0.01) but not in WOMAC pain score (mean difference, -0.5 [CI, -1.2 to 0.2]; P = 0.18) or the patient global assessment (mean difference, 0.16 [CI, -0.02 to 0.34]; P > 0.2). At 26 weeks, the true acupuncture group experienced significantly greater improvement than the sham group in the WOMAC function score (mean difference, -2.5 [CI, -4.7 to -0.4]; P = 0.01), WOMAC pain score (mean difference, -0.87 [CI, -1.58 to -0.16];P = 0.003), and patient global assessment (mean difference, 0.26 [CI, 0.07 to 0.45]; P = 0.02). LIMITATIONS: At 26 weeks, 43% of the participants in the education group and 25% in each of the true and sham acupuncture groups were not available for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture seems to provide improvement in function and pain relief as an adjunctive therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee when compared with credible sham acupuncture and education control groups.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1998

[Acupuncture and ganglionic local opioid analgesia in trigeminal neuralgia].

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is defined as a chronic, severe, electrifying and burning pain in one side of the face. The attacks are initiated by tactile irritations in a so-called trigger area of the trigeminal nerve and are perceived within the borders of this nerve's innervation. TN is a chronic condition which initially goes into spontaneous remission but these become fewer as the condition progresses. TN is classified as symptomatic when the etiology is known and as idiopathic when the etiology is unknown. There are various forms of treatment: drugs such as anticonvulsants, local ganglionic opioid analgesia (GLOA) at the superior cervical ganglion or sphenopalatine ganglion, percutaneous intervention at the trigeminal ganglion as well as neurosurgery. None of these various procedures has been found to be the most suited and best method. A retrospective analysis of the data of 39 patients who had sought treatment for TN at our pain and acupuncture outpatients' department from 1993 to 1994 was undertaken. Group A (n = 17) had received carbamazepine and acupuncture therapy, group B (n = 11) carbamazepine and GLOA + acupuncture, whereas group C (n = 11) had received carbamazepine and GLOA without acupuncture. All subjects had taken carbamazepine for at least 4 weeks and their plasma levels were within the therapeutic range. Acupuncture therapy was carried out once a week and the number recorded. GLOA was carried out with 0.045 mg buprenorphine at the superior cervical ganglion or the sphenopalatine ganglion as a series of at least 5 injections. The number of attacks of pain and the degree of pain (visual analogue scale [VAS]) were documented. The reduction in pain was categorized in 4 groups: I = pain free, II = reduction of at least 50% on the VAS, III = reduction of less than 50% on the VAS, and IV = no improvement. The statistical analysis was carried out using the chi 2-text, p < 0.05 was considered as significant. Of the groups who received acupuncture as an additive, 8 of the 17 subjects of group A, and 5 of the 11 subjects of group B were pain free, but only 2 of the 11 subjects of group C (no acupuncture). The results of the patients with marked pain reduction (category II) were similar. The most patients with no improvement were from the group which did not receive acupuncture (C). The statistical analysis showed significant differences in the categories I, II, and IV between groups A and C. These results show that the combined use of acupuncture and carbamazepine with/without GLOA achieves an additional therapeutic effect in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. The addition of acupuncture seems to have a superior effect to the addition of GLOA. These results support the use of acupuncture as an additional form of therapy for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2000

Acupuncture and chronic pain management.

INTRODUCTION: Although acupuncture has been widely used to treat a variety of pain conditions, convincing scientific evidence for its efficacy is lacking. Earlier randomised controlled trials attempted to follow a double-blind, placebo-controlled model. This approach has encountered many problems such as the virtual impossibility of blinding the acupuncturist and the uncertainties inherent in choosing control acupuncture points. The objective of this review is to assess if acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic pain. In addition, a number of key methodological issues that arise in the controlled evaluation of acupuncture will be discussed. METHODS: This review is based on the result of previous reviews, meta-analyses and consensus conference. The search was performed with MEDLINE (from 1966), EMBASE (from 1980) and Cochrane library (1999, volume 1). Only randomised trials of acupuncture (involved needling) for subjects with chronic pain published in English were included. RESULTS: Basic science research has demonstrated convincingly that at least in the context of acute pain, acupuncture's effects are related to the release of a variety of natural opioids. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for postoperative dental pain. There are reasonable studies showing relief of pain with acupuncture on diverse pain conditions such as menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, low back pain and fibromyalgia. This suggests that acupuncture may have a more general effect on pain. However, there are also studies which provide equivocal results because of design, sample size and other factors. The issue is further complicated by inherent difficulties in the use of appropriate controls, such as placebo and sham acupuncture groups. CONCLUSION: As most of the studies were of poor methodological quality, there is a need for further high quality randomised controlled trials. Future studies should also have larger sample sizes, use a valid acupuncture treatment, and have both a short-term and long-term follow-up.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2005

Long-term improvement in pain coping for cLBP and gonarthrosis patients following body needle acupuncture: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about potential long-term effects of body acupuncture. The aim of the study was to determine such long-term effects 3 and 6 months after the end of a course of acupuncture treatment for chronic low-back pain (cLBP) or chronic pain caused by gonarthrosis. METHODS: Prospective cohort study with patients who had received 10 sessions of needle body acupuncture within a maximum of 10 weeks. Data source was our survey of all patients receiving acupuncture treatment in Germany. A total of 1096 eligible patients with cLBP or gonarthrosis pain were identified (68.1% female) and invited by letter to participate in the study. Ultimately 249 patients remained, with no loss of representativeness. Two telephone interviews were conducted 3 and 6 months after the last acupuncture session using standardized questionnaires, available as electronic case report forms. The primary target criteria were self-assessment of pain tolerability prior to the start of acupuncture and after the end of treatment, and pain intensity (GCPS) over time. Secondary target criteria were changes to functional impairment (HFAQ for cLBP, WOMAC for gonarthrosis), quality of life (SF12), depression (CES-D) and patient global assessment of treatment effectiveness (PGA). For the indication cLBP, pain-related fear avoidance beliefs (FABQ) were also queried. RESULTS: Pain tolerability before acupuncture was reported as being significantly worse than pain tolerability at the time of the two post-acupuncture interviews. The scores for all post-acupuncture questionnaires showed no significant changes over time, with the exception of treatment effectiveness for gonarthrosis. Mean scores for each of the questionnaires at the 3 and 6 month follow-up interviews were as follows: cLBP: Pain tolerability (pre: 6.8, post: 3.4 / 3.4), pain intensity (41.8 / 42.6), PGA (2.4 / 2.6), SF12 physical (35.8 / 35.8), SF12 mental (45.3 / 46.9), CES-D (14.9 / 14.9), HFAQ (67.2 / 67.1), FABQ total (2.9 / 2.9). GONARTHROSIS: Pain tolerability (pre: 6.9, post: 3.6 / 3.9), pain intensity (42.9 / 42.8), PGA (2.6 / 2.9), SF12 physical (32.2 / 31.3), SF12 mental (45.0 / 46.2), CES-D (15.6 / 14.7), WOMAC total (34.6 / 34.0). CONCLUSIONS: Pain tolerability was significantly improved after acupuncture and remained so up to 6 months after treatment. The mean scores of almost all questionnaires did not change significantly between 3 and 6 months. We therefore conclude that acupuncture had a long-term effect on important aspects of cognitive and emotional pain coping.

Acupuncture Analgesia↗
PubMed1987

Acupuncture for some common disorders: a review of evaluative research.

This paper reviews the use of acupuncture to treat several disorders where pain is not the primary symptom. Studies on asthma have shown a small but consistent short-term therapeutic effect of acupuncture. One study of long-term effects found no improvement in asthma after acupuncture while the other reported a modest effect on symptom relief but with a greater impact on medication reduction. Further studies of the long-term effects of acupuncture on asthma would seem desirable even though the currently available findings are equivocal. Sufficient work has now been carried out on sensorineural deafness to conclude that acupuncture has no worthwhile effects on this condition. Only two studies have been carried out on tinnitus; they indicate that the effects of short courses of acupuncture are at best slight. There are some encouraging findings for acupuncture treatment of hypertension, although the study was seriously flawed by the lack of a no treatment control group. With regard to giving up smoking it seems that acupuncture may assist during the withdrawal period and that it compares favourably with other forms of treatment; whether there is any specific effect of the acupuncture is not yet clear. As with other attempts to stop people smoking, however, there is a high relapse rate. The trials of acupuncture on psychiatric disorders have suffered from the lack of detailed assessment and control groups; no conclusions can be drawn without further studies. The studies on weight loss similarly do not permit any firm conclusions about the usefulness of acupuncture.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1998

[Physicians and other practitioners of acupuncture in Norway--education, theoretical orientation and practice].

We conducted a survey for the purpose of obtaining information on training, theoretical orientation and practice among various categories of practitioners of acupuncture in Norway. Particular attention was paid to physicians, compared with other groups of practitioners. A questionnaire was sent to 161 persons who had attended Norwegian Medical Acupuncture Seminars (Norske legers akupunkturkurs) and to 274 persons found under "Acupuncture" in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory. The response rate was 80%, questionnaires being returned by 298 practitioners. A significantly higher percentage of physicians, as opposed to other practitioners, had less than 120 hours of acupuncture training. 30% of the physicians, compared to 60% in other groups, had more than 10 acupuncture consultations a week. Physicians performed only a relatively small number of different acupuncture methods. There was a relatively high number of men among the acupuncturists. Hence, acupuncture seems to be a practice with masculine appeal. 67% of the physicians used one or more Chinese medical concepts associated with acupuncture. 45% stated that they found non-scientific explanations for how acupuncture works reliable. We therefore argue that one can identify parallel processes in the development of acupuncture. Some elements of acupuncture have been integrated in a scientifically defined reality. At the same time, this survey indicates another process: it shows that many practitioners use traditional Chinese medical concepts. This may indicate that some practitioners have changed their view on what constitutes a reliable picture of reality.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2006

[Effect of acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on glucose metabolism in the patient of dysmenorrhea].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the central modulating mechanism of acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. METHODS: 18F-FDG positron emission tomograph imaging of whole brain was performed in six patients with primary dysmenorrhea during two stimulation: pseudo acupuncture and real acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP 6). The areas of cerebral glycometabolism change were obtained by using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Meanwhile the pain intensity before and after pseudo-acupuncture and real acupuncture was assessed with 0-10 numerical pain intensity scale. RESULTS: No differences in the values of pain before and after pseudo-acupuncture (P > 0.05). The value of pain after acupuncture was significantly lower than that before acupuncture (P < 0.01). Most of the activated brain areas were shared with the areas activated by pain as described in the literature. The brain areas of increasing glycometabolism were ipsilateral lentiformn nucleus (globus pallidus, putamen), cerebellum and insula, bilateral thalamus, ipsilateral paracentral lobule, bilateral amygdala, contralateral midbrain, bilateral second somatosensory cortex, ipsilateral hippocampus and anterior cingulate, contralateral mammillary body. The brain areas of decreasing glycometabolism were limited in small cerebral cortex. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) can relieve significantly the pain of the patient. Primary dysmenorrhea is cured mainly by activating the area involved in pain. It is indicated that acupuncture can relieve pain and balancing the pain-related central networks. Also neuroendocrine may play a role in the therapy.

Acupuncture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Maternal acupuncture effects on surfactant and antioxidant enzymes in preterm rat lungs.

The objectives of this study are to evaluate the effects of maternal acupuncture treatment on lung maturation in preterm rats. Two stainless-steel needles were inserted into the Tsu-San-Li locus in the right hind leg of timed pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats for 30 min. One-day acupuncture-group mothers received electroacupuncture on day 18 of gestation. Two-day acupuncture-group mothers received electroacupuncture on days 17 and 18 of gestation. Control-group mothers received acupuncture at a site not contained in the Atlas of Human Acupuncture Points on day 18 of pregnancy. On day 19 of gestation, pups in all dams were delivered by cesarean section. Maternal 2-day acupuncture treatment significantly increased total phospholipids in fetal lung tissue when compared with control and 1-day acupuncture-treated groups. Two-day acupuncture-treated fetuses had higher saturated phosphatidylcholine level in lung tissue although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Two-day acupuncture-treated fetuses had significantly lower superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities than did the control and 1-day acupuncture-treated fetuses. We conclude that maternal acupuncture treatment affects surfactant and antioxidant enzyme development in contrasting ways and may have both beneficial and potentially harmful effects on different aspects of lung development.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Introducing a placebo needle into acupuncture research.

BACKGROUND: A problem acupuncture research has to face is the concept of a control group. If, in control groups, non-acupoint needling is done, physiological acupuncture effects are implied. Therefore the effects shown in this group are often close to those shown in the acupuncture group. In other trials, control groups have received obviously different treatments, such as transcutaneous electrical nervous stimulation or TENS-laser treatment; it is not clear if the effects of acupuncture are due only to the psychological effects of the treatment. METHODS: We developed a placebo acupuncture needle, with which it should be possible to simulate an acupuncture procedure without penetrating the skin. In a cross-over experiment with 60 volunteers we tested whether needling with the placebo needle feels any different from real acupuncture. FINDINGS: Of 60 volunteers, 54 felt a penetration with acupuncture (mean visual analogue scale [VAS] 13.4; SD 10.58) and 47 felt it with placebo (VAS 8.86; SD 10.55), 34 felt a dull pain sensation (DEQI) with acupuncture and 13 with placebo. None of the volunteers suspected that the needle may not have penetrated the skin. INTERPRETATION: The placebo needle is sufficiently credible to be used in investigations of the effects of acupuncture.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed2006

Point specificity of acupuncture in the light of recent clinical and imaging studies.

One fundamental question that is still not resolved is whether acupuncture needles must be inserted in specific points to have their greatest effects. In the majority of large RCTs recently conducted in Germany, acupuncture was significantly more effective than doing nothing but not than sham acupuncture. Only for one study of chronic knee pain was acupuncture superior to sham. Brain imaging with functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) may be helpful but is still in its early stages. Several studies have shown differences between the way the deep central areas of the brain respond to genuine acupuncture compared with sham. Acupuncture can clearly produce complex changes that are relevant to pain transmission and perception, though it is still uncertain how specific these are. Similar changes have been seen after the application of placebo cream and after hypnosis. A previous paper discussed the likely central role of the limbic system in acupuncture, evidenced by euphoria and out of body experiences. There may be a good deal of common ground between acupuncture, placebo treatments, hypnosis, and even manipulative treatments. This understanding could offer a way out of the sterile debate about whether acupuncture is merely a placebo: acupuncture could be one effective way of stimulating responses within these deep areas of the brain, though not the only way.

Acupuncture Points↗