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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 reduces blood pressure in medicated hypertensive patients

Categories: Hypertension

Patients with high blood pressure who are taking anti-hypertensive medication may benefit from adjunctive acupuncture treatment, according to a small study carried out in Turkey. Investigators studied 34 patients who had been on anti-hypertensive drug therapy for at least 24 months and who were experiencing side-effects such as fatigue, dizziness, weakness, headache, joint pain, sleeping problems, ...

Chinese herbs reduce inflammatory markers in Sjogren's syndrome

Categories: Miscellaneous disorders

Chinese herbal medicine can alleviate disease activity in primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) patients.

Acupuncture as good as NSAIDs for dysmenorrhoea

Categories: Gynaecology, Gynaecological

Acupuncture is as effective as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for patients with dysmenorrhoea, Turkish researchers report.

Electro-acupuncture as effective as drugs for depression

Categories: Psychological / emotional

Electro-acupuncture (EA) is as effective for depression as the drug fluoxetine, according to Chinese researchers. Seventy-five patients with depressive disorder (DD) were treated with either fluoxetine or acupuncture five times per week for six weeks. EA and fluoxetine were found to have similar curative effects, but EA had a faster onset of action, better response rate and better improvement rate ...

Acupuncture helps with pain relief after heart surgery

Categories: Heart / Cardiac, Post-operative

Acupuncture can lead to significant pain reduction and improvement in lung function in patients who have had sternotomy for heart surgery.

Acupuncture improves paediatric asthma

Categories: Babies & children / paediatrics, Respiratory disorders

A prospective, randomised trial carried out in Denmark has found that acupuncture can reduce asthma symptoms and medication use in preschool children.

Acupuncture more effective for knee osteoarthritis

Categories: Arthritis , Knee

Acupuncture should be considered to be one of the most effective treatments for short-term alleviation of knee pain from osteoarthritis (OA), according to a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies by UK authors.

Empathetic consultations soothe patients' pain

Categories: Acupuncture research, Professional

Patient-centred interviewing techniques don't just put patients more at ease, they can change the brain's stress response and increase pain tolerance, according to an American research team.

Mindfulness can ease inflammation

Categories: Qigong, Lifestyle research

People with chronic inflammatory conditions - such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease - which are made worse by stress could benefit from practicing mindfulness meditation, according to a study by US scientists. The new study was designed to pinpoint the benefits specifically due to mindfulness meditation practice, by controlling for the effect of other therapeutic mechanisms, ...

As tigers go extinct, Chinese medicine switches to lions

Categories: Herbal medicine, General discussion

As tiger populations in the wild continue to dwindle towards extinction, it seems that attention is turning towards lion bones as replacements for the Chinese medicine trade.

Tai chi improves neuromuscular function in the elderly

Categories: Tai chi

Tai chi is as effective as proprioception exercises for improving neuromuscular function in elderly people, according to Chinese researchers. Sixty elderly subjects were randomly allocated into three groups. For 16 consecutive weeks subjects participated in tai chi (TC), proprioception exercises (PE) and were compared to a control group who did no structured exercise. At the end of the interventio ...

Tai chi and yoga can reduce symptoms of prenatal depression

Categories: Psychological / emotional, Pregnancy & labour, Tai chi

A US team reports that practising a combination of tai chi and yoga can reduce prenatal depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances in pregnant women.

Qigong improves quality of life during radiation therapy

Categories: Cancer, Psychological / emotional, Qigong

Researchers from the US have found that qigong practice can reduce depressive symptoms and improve quality of life in women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer. Ninety-six women with breast cancer were randomised to a qigong group or a waitlist control group. Women in the qigong group attended five 40-minute classes each week during their five-to-six week course of radiation therapy. Patient ...

External qigong therapy can help cocaine addicts abstain

Categories: Substance abuse, Qigong

A pilot study carried out in the US suggests that external qigong therapy (EQT) could be useful in reducing cocaine cravings for patients in early recovery.

Pain sensitivity may affect response to sham acupuncture

Categories: Acupuncture research

A study by a team of US researchers has shown that an enhanced response to sham acupuncture (SA) may be present in fibromyalgia patients who are more sensitive to experimental-pressure stimuli.

Electrodermal resistance at acupuncture points can distinguish pain from no-pain

Categories: Acupuncture research

A small case control study carried out in Canada has found evidence that electrodermal activity at acupuncture points (APs) differs between patients with current pain and pain-free controls.

Acupuncture for hot flushes

Categories: Menopausal syndrome

Combining Eastern and Western concepts of hot-flush pathogenesis can lead to safe, evidence-based interventions which can improve quality of life for patients who are experiencing hot flushes, according to a review paper from the USA. The author provides evidence of acupuncture

Acupuncture's cardiovascular actions

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

An American author has carried out a detailed review of what is known about the mechanisms involved in the cardiovascular effects of acupuncture. It details experimental work showing that acupuncture leads to the release of neurotransmitters in the CNS that alter autonomic outflow and hence cardiovascular function. The review also summarises clinical studies suggesting that acupuncture can be used ...

Qi, acupuncture and the fascia

Categories: Acupuncture research

A review by two authors from the USA discusses the ‘fascia acupuncture hypothesis’, which suggests that fascial planes are the basis of the acupuncture channels. The article considers the concept of qi in light of recent studies expanding the role of the fascia in human health, and suggesting that stimulation of the fascia by needling is capable of affecting every aspect of physiology. ...

Topical herbal medicines provide additional benefit in psoriasis

Categories: Skin / dermatology

Australian authors of a systematic review have concluded that topical herbal medicines (HMs) provide additional benefit to psoriasis patients when used in combination with pharmacotherapy.