SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS

STRESS - before operations. A recent randomized, double-blind study concludes that both auricular (ear) acupuncture and body acupuncture are effective in reducing pre and post-operative anxiety. Pre and post-perative anxiety has been identified in approximately 80 percent of patients, which prompted this investigation. The study was conducted by Xi Jing Hosptial (Xi’an, China).
The ear acupuncture group received needle stimulation at point ear Shenmen. The body acupuncture group received needle stimulation at Du20, SiShenCong, Yin Tang, Liv3, and St36. The needles were 0.25-.30 mm in diameter and ranged between 25-40 mm in length. Needle depth ranged from 0.2 cm to 0.5 cm. Acupuncture therapy was administered for a period of four weeks at two sessions per week for a total of eight acupuncture treatments. The treatment principles were to increase lucidity, tranquilize by nourishing the Heart, calm the nerves, and regulate the Qi. Reference: Shengjun Wu, Jie Liang, Xia Zhu, Xufeng Liu, Danmin Miao. “Comparing the treatment effectiveness of body acupuncture and auricular acupuncture in preoperative anxiety treatment.” JRMS 2010; 16(1): 39-42.

MIGRAINES
In a prestigious Cochrane review of 22 trials which investigated whether acupuncture is effective in the treatment of migraine it was found that those patients who received acupuncture had fewer headaches. In trials in which acupuncture was compared to a proven drug treatment, patients receiving acupuncture mainly reported more improvement and fewer side effects. Collectively, the studies show that migraine patients benefit from acupuncture. Long-term follow up saw that there was continued benefit 9 months after treatment.

The review summary stated “there is consistent evidence that acupuncture provides additional benefit to treatment of acute migraine attacks only, or to routine care. Available studies suggest that acupuncture is at least as effective as, or possibly more effective than, drug treatment, and has fewer adverse effects. Acupuncture should be considered a treatment option for patients.”

Acupuncture 'lessens pain in the brain say researchers.

In the publication Brain Research, acupuncture was shown to have a significant effect on specific nerve structures. Acupuncture therapy was found to deactivate pathways that govern pain.
Expert Dr Hugh MacPherson, of the University of York, said: "These results provide objective scientific evidence that acupuncture has specific effects within the brain which hopefully will lead to a better understanding of how acupuncture works."
Dr MacPherson and colleagues explained when a patient receives acupuncture treatment this switches off areas within the brain that are associated with the processing of pain.They say their research could help to clear the way for acupuncture to be more broadly accepted as a treatment option on the NHS for a number of medical conditions.

ACUPUNCTURE REDUCES PAIN, DYSFUNCTION, AND DRY MOUTH IN CANCER PATIENTS.
CHICAGO June 2008-- More than 3000 cancer specialists gathered in Chicago to learn about the latest in cancer research, including the American Society for Clinical Oncology's. In a report Acupuncture was found to help relieve pain and dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients. "Acupuncture is well tolerated; generally, and I think it's appropriate therapeutic option to consider," said Dr. David Pfister, an oncologist at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Acupuncture significantly reduces pain, dysfunction and dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients, a U.S. researcher says.
Dr. David Pfister conducted a controlled trial on patients who had neck dissection -- a surgical procedure for treatment of head and neck cancer.
Pfister said he found pain and mobility improved in the patients receiving acupuncture, compared to the group that received usual care such as physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs.
"Unfortunately, available conventional methods of treatment for pain and dysfunction following neck surgery often have limited benefits, leaving much room for improvement," Pfister said in a statement.
An added benefit of acupuncture was significant reduction of reported extreme dry mouth -- a common problem among head and neck cancer patients.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

STROKE VICTIMS HELPED WITH ACUPUNCTURE.

Acupuncture helps Stroke victims. In a controlled study in Sweden a group of patients receiving acupuncture showed significant improvement in walking, balance, daily living activities and emotional state. The stabilising of the emotional state is of important significance Further studies carried out on the same group the following year showed that acupuncture had enhanced the recovery of postural function and this was still evident two years later. Many other studies have been done, in the United States, in Norway, and China. A further study to test the Scandinavian trials is underway in Southampton, England.

STRESS
According to a Yale Medical School study acupuncture was shown to significantly reduce stress, as measured by blood pressure, anxiety, heart rate, and electrodermal activity. Additionally, in a double blind, placebo-controlled study published in 1998, researchers demonstrated that acupuncture was 85.7% effective at treating patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder with no negative side effects.
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Acupuncture effective in treating nausea-vomiting British report on 33 clinical trials.
Exerting manual pressure on the Neiguan or P-6 acupuncture point (located about three finger-widths above the wrist on the inner arm) has long been a popular measure for alleviating nausea and motion sickness. Now British researchers report on a study designed to evaluate the scientific validity of this therapy. They reviewed the results of 33 clinical trials involving the use of stimulation of P-6 by needles, acupressure or electricity. The conditions being treated involved nausea or vomiting in connection with pregnancy, chemotherapy or surgery. Acupuncture was found to have a positive effect.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
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BREAST CANCER PATIENTS using ACUPUNCTURE for FATIGUE - 70% benefit rate.
BREAST CANCER PATIENTS using ACUPUNCTURE for FATIGUE - 70% Gwen Wyatt, a professor with the College of Nursing said "There are more than two million breast cancer survivors today, and persistent cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms and is associated with decreased quality of life, poor sleep quality and depression." Wyatt said pilot research has shown self-administered acupressure on ACUPUNCTURE POINTS can significantly decrease fatigue by as much as 70 percent in cancer survivors, as well as improve sleep quality. "There are few treatment options for persistent cancer-related fatigue, and these costly treatments often require a trained practitioner or have unacceptable side effects," Wyatt said. "On the other hand, self-administered acupressure on ACUPUNCTURE POINTS is nontoxic, inexpensive and requires minimal instruction. It appears to be a promising treatment for persistent fatigue." Source: Michigan State University .. MSUNEWS.
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ACUPUNCTURE HELPS KNEES

When acupuncture was added to the treatment of elderly arthritis patients with knee pain due to arthritis, their condition improved significantly, The University of Maryland reported.. The randomized clinical trial, performed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, determined whether acupuncture was a clinically safe and effective therapy for older patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The study addressed these questions: Would the addition of acupuncture to conventional therapy produce an added measure of pain relief? Would the effects of acupuncture last for 4 weeks following the end of treatment? Would acupuncture have any side effects? Patients who received acupuncture had significant pain relief and showed improvement in function. Those who did not receive acupuncture showed no significant change. No patients reported side effects from any acupuncture therapy session.

AUTISM

Acupuncture

AUTISM SOCIETY. Scalp or head acupuncture has shown some positive results as an effective treatment in treating central nerve damage. Some cases have led to patients improving to live a fairly normal life as humanly possible. The suggested areas for autism used include sensory and speech. Patients are usually treated two to three times each week. There are other acupuncture techniques which can also be effective such as ear and body acupuncture. 1 in 110 people in the United States has Autism Spectrum Disorder

ACUPUNCTURE BENEFITS HEART

Acupuncture can benefit the heart according to New scientific studies at the Medical Center, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. The science indicates that the use of specific acupuncture points may help to prevent heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) and arrhythmias (irregular heart beats). Also the study shows Acupuncture may be important for patients recovering from Heart Attack.
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BRAIN SCANS (fMRI) PROVE ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTS.

A new study published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging shows the neurophysiological effects of acupuncture using MRI technology. The researchers conclude that, “The current study demonstrates that acupuncture at different acupoints could exert different modulatory effects on RSNs. Our findings help to understand the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying acupuncture specificity.”The ability to explore the centrally mediated effects of acupuncture using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) brain imaging techniques takes advantage of an opportunity that Chinese doctors from the past could never have imagined. The fundamental physical processes that we are only now beginning to observe in medical research laboratories. The availability of the technology developed for brain imaging in the neurosciences (Cho et al., 1976; Cho et al., 2002; Toga and Mazziotta, 2000) will resolve the scientific proof of Acupuncture.
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MIGRAINES – ACUPUNCTURE BENEFICIAL STUDIES SHOW
The government funded, prestigious, Cochrane review has found that there is consistent evidence that acupuncture is beneficial in the treatment of acute migraine attacks and as a preventative treatment, with better results and fewer adverse effects than drug treatment.

Two recent studies showed that drug therapy had little benefit. Acupuncture was used with 3 different classical acupuncture systems of point selection and one series of non acupuncture points. All had approx 10 needle insertions and all the needles of all 4 selections were connected to electro current stimulation. All 4 types of acupuncture got significant results for acupuncture with the non acupuncture point selection getting slightly less results than the 3 classically selected points.

An international team of researchers, including Dr. Fan-rong Liang at Chengdu University in China, found that between 50 percent and 75 percent of those with migraines felt better after acupuncture, after 16 weeks.

Another study found an intervention promoting prevantitive drug treatment failed to reduce migraine sufferers' attack frequency or severity, a randomized study indicated, while a separate trial of acupuncture found that it was significantly beneficial.

The monthly control baseline average number of migraine attacks was about six. After acupuncture treatments migraine attack counts fell to about two during the final four weeks of the study in the classical acupuncture groups and to about three with the non classical treatment. The same pattern was seen for migraine and pain intensities.

In an accompanying editorial, Albrecht Molsberger, MD, of Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, said “Acupuncture should be an option for the first-line treatment of migraine along with other non drug treatment options."