Acupuncture transmitted infections.

March 21, 2010

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Acupuncture transmitted infections.

BMJ. 2010;340:c1268

Authors: Woo PC, Lin AW, Lau SK, Yuen KY

PMID: 20299695 [PubMed - in process]

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Acupuncture for essential hypertension.

March 19, 2010

Acupuncture for essential hypertension.

Altern Ther Health Med. 2010 Mar-Apr;16(2):18-29

Authors: Kim LW, Zhu J

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of acupuncture for treatment of essential hypertension and the efficacy of acupuncture using prescription adhering to the principles of “syndrome differentiation.” DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (September 2008). STUDY SELECTION: Randomized, controlled trials comparing acupuncture with sham acupuncture, antihypertensive drugs, Chinese herbal medicine, or exercise in essential hypertension. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently assessed trials for inclusion, extracted data, assessed methodological quality, and extracted outcome data on blood pressure. DATA SYNTHESIS: Treatment effects were summarized as mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Twenty trials were included: three trials were relatively rigorous while others were methodologically suboptimal. Acupuncture arms achieved significant effect modification on blood pressure compared with control arms (19 comparisons: systolic blood pressure [SBP]: mean difference -4.23 mmHg, 95% confidence intervals -6.47 to -1.99; diastolic blood pressure [DBP]: -2.53, -3.99 to -1.08), with significant heterogeneity. In high-quality trials, blood pressure was significantly lower in treatments of acupuncture plus antihypertensive drug arms than in sham-acupuncture plus hypertensive drug arms (two comparisons: SBP: -5.72 mmHg, -8.77 to -2.68; DBP: -2.80, -5.07 to -0.54), with no significant heterogeneity. As for trials using prescription adhering to the principles of syndrome differentiation, we found a significant blood pressure reduction with acupuncture arms in comparison with control arms (11 comparisons: SBP: -6.46 mmHg, -8.04 to -4.87; DBP: -3.07, -4.17 to -1.96) with no significant heterogeneity. In contrast, in trials not using prescription adhering to the principles of syndrome differentiation, we found no significant reduction in blood pressure with acupuncture arms in comparison with control arms (eight comparisons: SBP: -1.55 mmHg, -5.39 to 2.29; DBP: -2.12, -4.97 to 0.73) with significant heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the paucity of rigorous trials and the mixed results, these findings result in limited conclusions. More rigorously designed and powered studies are needed.

PMID: 20232615 [PubMed - in process]

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Stop Smoking with Acupuncture

March 14, 2010

Qi Mail™

The
Acupuncture Newsletter

March
2010
Among current U.S. adult smokers, 70% report
that they want to quit smoking and millions try to quit every year. If
you have attempted to quit smoking, you know how difficult it can be.
Nicotine is a powerful addiction. In fact, research suggests that
nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol.

It is estimated that most smokers will attempt to quit two or three
times, or more, before finally kicking the habit. When conventional
methods to quit smoking have failed, smokers often look outside
mainstream approaches and turn to alternative medicine.

Acupuncture as an alternative approach to smoking cessation has a
growing number of converts. In fact, acupuncture is often a court
mandated treatment for drug addicts because of its ability to reduce
cravings and alleviate withdrawal symptoms such as irritability,
anxiety and difficulty concentrating.

In This Issue

Read more > >

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Development of postdural puncture headache following therapeutic acupuncture using a long acupuncture needle.

March 14, 2010

Development of postdural puncture headache following therapeutic acupuncture using a long acupuncture needle.

J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2010 Feb;47(2):140-2

Authors: Jo DJ, Lee BJ, Sung JK, Yi JW

Acupuncture appears to be a clinically effective treatment for acute and chronic pain. A considerable amount of research has been conducted to evaluate the role that acupuncture plays in pain suppression; however, few studies have been conducted to evaluate the side effects of the acupuncture procedure. This case report describes a suspected postdural puncture headache following acupuncture for lower back pain. Considering the high opening pressure, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and the patient’s history of acupuncture in the lower back area, our diagnosis was iatrogenic postdural puncture headache. Full relief of the headache was achieved after administration of an epidural blood patch.

PMID: 20224715 [PubMed - in process]

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The Sticking Points of Acupuncture

March 11, 2010

In the interest of making 2010 our year of wellness—Daphne Oz is on the case to find the ultimate in total mind, body and spirit care. Here, she offers up some of what may be the most interesting, innovative and effective examples of holistic therapy today.

Just so everyone knows what acupuncture is, we’re talking about inserting needles of all different sizes into various points around the body ‘on purpose’ with the goal of healing by releasing blocked energy and restoring equilibrium.

Read the complete article >>

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Ideas on Trial Design in Acupuncture for IBS.

March 8, 2010

Ideas on Trial Design in Acupuncture for IBS.

Am J Gastroenterol. 2010 Mar;105(3):699

Authors: Tingting M

PMID: 20203649 [PubMed - in process]

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Effects of acupuncture on autonomic nervous function and prefrontal cortex activity.

March 6, 2010

Effects of acupuncture on autonomic nervous function and prefrontal cortex activity.

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010;662:455-60

Authors: Sakatani K, Kitagawa T, Aoyama N, Sasaki M

Acupuncture is helpful in treating various diseases, including autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction caused by mental stress. On the other hand, the frontal lobe is suggested to play an important role in stress responses by modulating the ANS. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on ANS and frontal lobe activities. We investigated 18 normal adults. We measured the activity of prefrontal cortex (PFC) caused by real acupuncture (WHO-LI4) and sham acupuncture, employing optical topography. To evaluate ANS function, we analyzed heart rate variability (HRV). Analysis of HRV revealed a decrease of the LF/HF ratio, and an increase of the HF power by real acupuncture, indicating a shift to parasympathetic dominancy. Acupuncture also caused cerebral blood oxygenation changes in both directions, that is, an increase and/or a decrease of oxyhemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) in the bilateral PFC. However, the Oxy-Hb change was not correlated with HRV parameters in the majority of cases. One of the possible explanations of the poor correlations might be that the PFC activity induced by acupuncture is not closely linked with ANS function.

PMID: 20204829 [PubMed - in process]

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Complementary acupuncture in Parkinson’s disease: a spect study.

March 5, 2010

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Complementary acupuncture in Parkinson’s disease: a spect study.

Int J Neurosci. 2010 Feb;120(2):150-4

Authors: Huang Y, Jiang X, Zhuo Y, Wik G

ABSTRACT We studied cerebral effects of complementary acupuncture in Parkinson’s disease using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) measures of (99m)Tc-ECD and( 99m)Tc-TRODAT-4, before and after five weeks of treatment. Ten patients were randomly assigned to receive levodopa alone (controls) or levodopa and complementary scalp electro-acupuncture. Before treatment, no hemispheric regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) differences were found, whereas striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) activity was lower in the most affected hemisphere. Treatment with levodopa alone did not change rCBF, whereas it increased basal ganglion DAT activity in the most affected hemisphere. Patients who received levodopa and complementary acupuncture had increased rCBF in the frontal lobe, the occipital lobe, the basal ganglion, and the cerebellum in the most affected hemisphere as compared to baseline, but there were no changes in basal ganglia DAT levels. Thus, complementary acupuncture treatment in Parkinson’s disease may affect rCBF but not basal ganglion DAT.

PMID: 20199208 [PubMed - in process]

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Acupuncture in Primary Care.

March 3, 2010

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Acupuncture in Primary Care.

Prim Care. 2010 Mar;37(1):105-117

Authors: Mao JJ, Kapur R

Acupuncture, an ancient traditional Chinese medical therapy, is used widely around the world. When practiced by a certified provider, it is safe and patients often find it calming and relaxing. Animal and human studies have found a physiologic basis for acupuncture needling in that it affects the complex central and peripheral neurohormonal network. Although it is unclear whether acupuncture is beneficial over sham/placebo acupuncture, acupuncture care yields clinically relevant short- and long-term benefits for low back pain, knee osteoarthritis, chronic neck pain, and headache. The integration of acupuncture into a primary care setting also appears to be cost-effective. The practice of acupuncture in primary care requires rigorous training, financial discipline, and good communication skills. When done correctly, acupuncture is beneficial for both patients and providers.

PMID: 20189001 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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