The Acupuncture Blog: News and Opinion of the world of Oriental Medicine

November 20, 2011

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Acupuncture News Update by Admin at 07:15 PM

May 15, 2011

Acupuncture Plus Glasses May Help Treat "Lazy Eye"

In kids 3 to 7 years old, acupuncture plus glasses helped vision improve compared with just glasses alone, said study co-author Dr. Dennis Shun-Chiu Lam, who chairs the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Article: Reuters April 29, 2011

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 10:08 PM

March 13, 2011

Acupuncture Treats Retinitis Pigmentosa

Mounting evidence suggests that acupuncture is an effective treatment for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye disorder that may to lead to blindness. A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion concludes that acupuncture treatment protects the optic nerve from damage caused by intraocular pressure by alleviating stresses on retinal and optic nerve axonal ultrastructures.

Article: HealthCMI February 17, 2011

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 11:17 PM

Acupuncture for Menopause Hot Flashes

According to a new study, women who suffer from hot flashes and other uncomfortable symptoms of menopause may be able to find relief through acupuncture. These symptoms plague menopausal women and usual therapy for it is hormone replacement therapy but that has its own problems including an increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and breast cancer.

Turkish researchers recruited 53 postmenopausal women and assigned 27 of them to a five-week course of acupuncture (twice a week for 20 minutes at a time) and 26 of them got sham treatments that they thought were real. The real acupuncture group got pierced with the needles at 10 acupuncture points while the sham group got poked with blunted needles that did not penetrate the skin.

Results showed that at the end of the study period, the women who got acupuncture showed more relief from their symptoms compared to their counterparts who got the fake treatment. Their hot flashes were less severe (there was no change for women who got the sham treatment). Both groups had improvements in their psychological symptoms (as measured by the Menopause Rating Scale), though the benefit was much greater for women who got acupuncture. In addition, estrogen levels were significantly higher for the women in the treatment group compared to the controls. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of vaginal dryness and urinary tract infection. Had there been more than 10 sessions, the benefits of acupuncture might have been even greater, the researchers said. The results were published online March 7th in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine.

Abstract: Acupuncture in Medicine March, 2011

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 10:53 PM

November 28, 2010

Specific Local Changes of Electrical Skin Impedance Parameters

Due to controversially discussed results in scientific literature concerning changes of electrical skin impedance before and during acupuncture a new measurement system has been developed.

Skin impedance in the immediate surroundings of the acupoint was lowered reproducibly following needle stimulation and also violet laser stimulation.

Abstract: Biomedical Engineering Online November 23, 2010

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 07:35 PM

October 03, 2010

Acupuncture Not Helpful for Stroke Recovery

"Our meta-analysis of data from rigorous randomized sham-controlled trials did not show a positive effect of acupuncture as a treatment for functional recovery after stroke," Dr. Jae Cheol Kong of Wonkwang University in Iksan, South Korea, and colleagues conclude in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Article: Reuters September 27, 2010

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 11:12 PM

September 13, 2010

Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Pain

A recent article written in the New York Times discusses the placebo effect of acupuncture from a knee arthritis study.

Article: New York Times August 18, 2010

Abstract: Arthritis Care and Research September 2010

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 12:38 AM

August 02, 2010

Acupuncture Eases Pain in Hemophilia Patients

In a pilot study, six of nine patients achieved substantial pain relief, including one patient whose visual analog pain scale score dropped from 10 to 5, said Angela Lambing, MSN, nurse practitioner coordinator at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, at her poster presentation during the Hemophilia 2010 World Congress.

News: MedPage Today

Source: World Federation of Hemophilia
Lambing A, et al "Acupuncture for the management of chronic pain in the hemophilia population" WFH 2010; Abstract 31P14.

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 11:28 AM

July 26, 2010

Patient Expectation does not Affect Outcome

Back pain patients with pretreatment expectations and preferences for acupuncture were not found predictive of treatment outcomes.

Abstract: Spine July 1 2010

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 12:29 PM

May 30, 2010

Acupuncture’s Molecular Effects Pinned Down

Scientists found that the chemical adenosine is very active in deeper tissues affected by acupuncture. The Rochester researchers looked at the effects of acupuncture on the peripheral nervous system – the nerves in our body that aren’t part of the brain and spinal cord.

The team made a number of observations regarding adenosine:

·In mice with normal functioning levels of adenosine, acupuncture reduced discomfort by two-thirds.

·In special “adenosine receptor knock-out mice” not equipped with the adenosine receptor, acupuncture had no effect.

·When adenosine was turned on in the tissues, discomfort was reduced even without acupuncture.

·During and immediately after an acupuncture treatment, the level of adenosine in the tissues near the needles was 24 times greater than before the treatment.

“It’s clear that acupuncture may activate a number of different mechanisms,” said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. “This carefully performed study identifies adenosine as a new player in the process. It’s an interesting contribution to our growing understanding of the complex intervention which is acupuncture.”

Abstract: Nature Neuroscience May 30, 2010

Acupuncture News Update by mpence at 03:16 PM