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Research Archive

Welcome to our Chinese medicine and acupuncture research news pages. We add to the content of these pages continuously as more research news comes in. Browse through the complete archive below or use the category links on the right.

Please note that the most twenty recent research archive items are free to view but access to the thousands of items in the archive require a journal subscription.

ACUPUNCTURE COST-EFFECTIVE FOR HEADACHE

Categories: Headache & migraine

A German study has assessed the costs and cost-effectiveness of additional acupuncture treatment in patients with headache. The randomised controlled trial of 3182 patients measured quality of life, cost differences between treatment groups, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of acupuncture treatment. The ICER was calculated as 11657 euros per QALY (quality-adjusted life year) gai ...

ACUPUNCTURE IMPROVES HEADACHE TREATMENT

Categories: Headache & migraine

A large German study has compared the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care in patients with primary headache, to routine care alone. In a randomised controlled trial plus non-randomised cohort study, patients with headache were allocated to receive up to 15 acupuncture sessions over three months or to a control group receiving no acupuncture during the first three months. Patie ...

ACUPUNCTURE BETTER THAN MEDICATION FOR CHRONIC HEADACHE

Categories: Headache & migraine

A systematic review has confirmed the benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic headache. The study, carried out by US authors, included 31 studies in its meta-analysis. The majority of trials comparing verum (true) acupuncture with sham acupuncture were found to show a trend in favour of verum acupuncture. The combined response rate in the acupuncture group was significantly higher comp ...

ACUPUNCTURE WORKS FOR HEADACHES

Categories: Headache & migraine

The addition of 12 additional trials (carried out since 2001) to the Cochrane Database Systematic Review of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis increased the number of trials meeting the inclusion criteria to 22, involving a total of 4419 participants. The authors' new conclusion, based on the additional data, is that there is now consistent evidence that acupuncture provides additional benefit i ...

ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTIVE FOR ACUTE MIGRAINE

Categories: Headache & migraine

Chinese researchers have found acupuncture to be an effective treatment for acute migraine. In a multicentre randomised controlled trial, they compared verum acupuncture with two different types of sham acupuncture. 175 patients received one session of real or sham treatment and were observed over a period of 24 hours. Visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores in the fourth hour after treatment decrea ...

ACUPUNCTURE AND HAY FEVER

Categories: Hay fever

In a randomised, controlled, single-blind trial in the UK, patients in the 'active' group received needling at Zanzhu BL-2, Yingxiang L.I.-20 and Hegu L.I.-4 (deqi was obtained and needles retained for five minutes), whilst patients in the control group received sham acupuncture (three needles inserted subcutaneously, with no further stimulation, in an area over the middle of the patella). Remissi ...

Acupuncture versus acupuncture + herbs for hay fever

Categories: Hay fever, Nose and mouth, Allergies

Although many Asian practitioners are happy to specialise as acupuncturists, and therefore do not prescribe herbs, there has been a tendency in the west to feel that acupuncture alone is somehow inadequate. In the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis at least, this does not seem to be the case. In a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 65 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis re ...

Acupuncture & allergic rhinitis in kids

Categories: Hay fever, Nose and mouth, Allergies

A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of acupuncture for the treatment of childhood persistent allergic rhinitis was carried out at a Hong Kong hospital. Patients attending the paediatric outpatient department were randomly assigned to receive either true or sham acupuncture, administered twice a week for eight weeks. There were significantly lower daily rhinitis scores and more sym ...

Acupuncture effective for allergic rhinitis

Categories: Hay fever, Nose and mouth

An Australian study has found that acupuncture can significantly reduce the symptoms of persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR). The randomised, single-blind, sham-controlled trial included 80 patients with PAR (aged 16-70 years) who were randomly assigned to real or sham acupuncture. Three key acupuncture points, Yingxiang L.I.-20, Yintang M-HN-3 and Fengchi GB-20, plus one supplementary point (determ ...

Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis

Categories: Hay fever, Nose and mouth, Allergies

A systematic review of seven high quality trials evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating or preventing allergic rhinitis (AR) concludes that the evidence is mixed. Results for seasonal AR failed to show specific effects of acupuncture, while for perennial AR evidence suggests acupuncture is effective. (Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis: a systematic review. Ann Allergy Asthma Immu ...

ACUPUNCTURE & POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME

Categories: Gynaecology

24 women with polycystic ovarian syndrome who had amenorrhoea or oligomenorrhoea, 19 or whom were resistant to clomiphene, were given 10-14 mostly electro-acupuncture treatments at points Shenshu BL-23, Pangguangshu BL-28, Sanyinjiao SP-6, Yinlingquan SP-9, Neiguan P-6, Waiguan SJ-5 and Baihui DU-20. 9 women, , 7 of whom were clomiphene resistant, showed a significant rise in rate of ovulation. (A ...

HERBAL MEDICINES FOR DYSMENORRHOEA

Categories: Gynaecology

In a Japanese study, two herbal medicine prescriptions administered alternately within the menstrual cycle were found to have powerful antidysmenorrhoeic effects. The two prescriptions were Shakuyaku-kanzo-to (Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang/Peony & Licorice Decoction) and Toki-shakuyaku-san (Dang Gui Shao Yao San/Tangkuei and Peony powder). All 17 dysmenorrhea patients in the study, including recurrent ...

ORIENTAL HERBAL MEDICINE FOR MENOPAUSE

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

A Japanese study compared the use of traditional Kampo herbal formulas and HRT, in two groups of women suffering menopausal symptoms. In the 18 patients in the Kampo group, treatment was able to alleviate the whole range of symptoms, whilst in the 16 women in the HRT group, symptoms such as cold limbs, sleeping disorders, shoulder stiffness/lumbago, and fatigue, were unaffected. In addition, the s ...

ACUPUNCTURE FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

In a randomised study, women suffering menopausal symptoms were treated either with acupuncture points specifically chosen to treat their disorder, or more general qi tonifying acupuncture. The acupuncture specific group showed a decrease in mean monthly hot flush severity whilst the comparison acupuncture treatment group showed no significant changes. Sleep disturbances in the point specific acup ...

ACUPRESSURE & DYSMENORRHOEA

Categories: Gynaecology

In a study which compared acupressure at Sanyinjiao SP-6 with simple resting for female technical college students in Taiwan suffering from dysmenorrhoea, the acupressure "whether in the form of treatment or self-treatment" was found to significantly reduce pain. (J Adv Nurs. 2004 Nov; 48(4):380-7)

ACUPUNCTURE & ENDOMETRIAL PAIN

Categories: Gynaecology

A study of 101 women (aged 20 to 40), of whom 83 completed the trial, with laparoscopic-proofed endometriosis, randomised them to one of two groups. The first received specific acupuncture for the condition while the other were treated at non-specific points (points with no relation to the diagnosis). Treatment was given twice weekly for ten weeks. After a two month interval, the two groups change ...

ACUPUNCTURE & HOT FLUSHES

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

In a study of 29 postmenopausal women who experienced at least seven moderate to severe hot flushes a day, active acupuncture was found to significantly decrease the severity of nocturnal flushes (by 28%) compared to 6% in women given sham acupuncture. The frequency of flushes was reduced by more in the active treatment group compared to the sham but not significantly so. (A randomized controlled ...

ACUPUNCTURE COST-EFFECTIVE FOR PERIOD PAIN

Categories: Gynaecology

A pragmatic randomised study has evaluated the clinical and economic effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of women with dysmenorrhoea. 201 patients were allocated to receive either up to 15 acupuncture sessions over three months or no acupuncture. Both groups additionally received usual medical care. Outcome measures of pain intensity and quality of life were recorded at baseline and afte ...

ACUPUNCTURE REDUCES HOT FLUSH SEVERITY

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

Acupuncture is associated with a significant decrease in the severity, but not the frequency, of postmenopausal hot flushes. In a randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study, 29 postmenopausal women averaging at least seven moderate to severe hot flushes per 24 hours, were randomised to receive seven weeks (nine treatment sessions) of either active acupuncture (standardised, individually-tailored p ...

ACUPUNCTURE 'AS GOOD AS HRT' AFTER OOPHORECTOMY

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

Acupuncture results in a significant improvement in perimenopausal symptoms in women who have had their ovaries surgically removed (oophorectomy). Sixty-seven women who had undergone oophorectomy were non-randomly divided into two groups. One group was given acupuncture and the comparison group was given usual medical care (HRT drug Livial - a combination of synthetic oestrogen, progesterone and a ...