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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.

Ephedra affects autonomic activity

Categories: Herb research

Consumption of ephedra (Ma Huang, Ephedrae Herba) extract has both acute and chronic effects on autonomic nervous activity. Twenty healthy Taiwanese subjects were given 1g of ephedra dry extract or placebo once per day for 14 days in a crossover fashion with a seven-day washout period between treatments. Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) showed that ingestion of ephedra caused the sympathov ...

Magnolia effective for allergic rhinitis

Categories: Hay fever, Nose and mouth, Allergies

Magnolia (Xin Yi San, XYS, Flos Magnoliae), used as a single herb, is effective in the treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis. In a randomised double-blind study, Chinese researchers treated 108 patients with either XYS or a placebo for three months XYS reduced nasal symptoms (sneezing and rhinorrhoea), and nasal congestion, through reduction of nasal airflow resistance. The scientists also foun ...

Needling LIV-3 affects systemic haemodynamics

Categories: Acupuncture research

A team from Japan has investigated the changes of blood flow in the radial and brachial arteries during acupuncture needling. Eighteen healthy volunteers received manual acupuncture bilaterally at Taichong LIV-3. Blood flow volume decreased significantly during acupuncture in both radial and brachial arteries, but was found to be increased at 180 seconds after acupuncture compared with baseline. S ...

Doctors become acupuncture patients rather than acupuncturists

Categories: Acupuncture research

A Norwegian study has investigated changes in the personal and professional use of acupuncture among physicians in Norway between 1994 and 2004. The results showed that the percentage of physicians having used acupuncture for their own complaints had more than doubled (18% in 2004 vs 8% in 1994), while the percentage that intended to use acupuncture for their own complaints remained steady (55% in ...

Acupuncture after stroke activates damaged speech centres

Categories: Stroke

Acupuncture can assist language recovery in chronic stroke patients and may be associated with increased activity in the damaged speech area of the brain. Seven chronic stroke patients suffering from aphasia were treated with acupuncture three times a week, over a period of eight weeks. Four acupoints were stimulated on the weak side of the patient's body and no other rehabilitation was given duri ...

Reduced electrical impedance of acupuncture meridians associated with subcutaneous collagen bands

Categories: Acupuncture research

A new paper by American authors suggests that the reduced electrical impedances measured at acupuncture meridians are significantly associated with subcutaneous collagenous bands.Previous research has suggested that acupuncture meridians are physiologically characterised by low electrical impedance and anatomically associated with connective tissue planes. The new study assessed the electrical imp ...

Acupuncture analgesia mediated through adenosine

Categories: Acupuncture research

The understanding of how acupuncture's analgesic effects are mediated has been significantly improved, thanks to a paper from American authors. The team has, for the first time, identified the molecule adenosine as being potentially responsible for some of the effects of acupuncture in the body. Adenosine, which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, its role in regulating sleep and its ef ...

Acupuncture trials get even STRICTA

Categories: Acupuncture research

A new version of the STRICTA (Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture) checklist has been published, setting out revised and expanded reporting guidelines for clinical trials of acupuncture. The new STRICTA checklist includes six items and 17 sub-items, which set out guidelines for the reporting of acupuncture rationale, details of needling, treatment regimen, other ...

Acupuncture for labour pain

Categories: Pregnancy & labour, Pregnancy & Labour

Current evidence from RCTs does not support the use of acupuncture for controlling labour pain, according to a systematic review from Korean authors. Ten RCTs involving 2038 women were included. Meta-analysis showed that acupuncture was not superior to minimal acupuncture at one hour and at two hours. Patients reported significantly reduced pain by 4% and 6% during electroacupuncture (EA) treatmen ...

Acupuncture for temporomandibular disorders

Categories: Temperomandibular / Jaw

Korean authors have found moderate evidence that acupuncture is effective at reducing symptoms associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Nineteen studies were systematically reviewed. There was moderate evidence that classical acupuncture had a positive influence beyond that of placebo; had positive effects similar to occlusal splint therapy and was more effective for TMD symptoms than ph ...

Acupuncture for fibromyalgia

Categories: Fibromyaigia, Miscellaneous

A systematic review of TCM therapies for treatment of fibromyalgia has concluded that they appear to be effective. The authors looked at twenty-five RCTs (1516 participants) of which ten were eligible for meta-analysis. Acupuncture reduced pain scores and number of tender points compared with conventional medication, however it showed no significant effect on pain reduction compared with sham acup ...

Acupuncture can improve endothelial dysfunction in hypertension

Categories: Stroke, Hypertension

A Korean study has shown that acupuncture can improve endothelial dysfunction in patients with hypertension. The pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial randomly assigned 15 patients with essential hypertension to a sequence of four acupuncture treatment phases, each lasting 15 minutes, with a seven-day washout period in between. Needles were inserted at bilateral Zusanli ST-36; Ne ...

Acupuncture improves exercise tolerance in heart failure patients

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

Acupuncture can improve the exercise tolerance of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), potentially by improving skeletal muscle function. Seventeen patients with CHF, all receiving optimised heart failure medication, were randomised into a verum acupuncture (VA) and placebo acupuncture (PA) group. The maximum distance that patients were capable of walking in six minutes increased signific ...

Acupuncture increases muscle strength

Categories: Miscellaneous disorders, Acupuncture research

A single acupuncture treatment can increase isometric quadriceps strength, according to German authors. Thirty-three recreational athletes were randomised to receive acupuncture, sham acupuncture (needling at non-acupuncture points) and placebo laser acupuncture (deactivated laser device) in a double-blind crossover fashion, with one week between trials. The difference from baseline of the mean ch ...

Acupuncture calms burning mouth syndrome

Categories: Miscellaneous disorders, Nose and mouth

Acupuncture can significantly reduce burning mouth syndrome, a chronic pathology of unknown aetiopathogenesis, probably due to its influence on oral microcirculation. In an observational study carried out by Italian investigators, thirty patients were treated with TCM acupuncture for three weeks. Oral microcirculation was observed using videocapillaroscopy at three times: in the absence of acupunc ...

Acupuncture reduces hot flushes due to prostate cancer treatment

Categories: Cancer, Male disorders

Acupuncture can produce meaningful improvement in hot flush frequency for men undergoing androgen ablation therapy (AAT) for prostate cancer. In an observational study carried out in the USA, 22 patients underwent electroacupuncture biweekly for four weeks, then weekly for six weeks, using a predefined treatment plan. After four weeks, 41% of patients had a >50% reduction in the hot flush score ...

Acupuncture improves sleep apnoea

Categories: Insomnia/sleep disorders, Respiratory disorders

Brazilian researchers have shown in a pilot study that acupuncture can improve the sleep pattern of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Forty patients were randomly allocated to manual acupuncture (MA) treatment, 10 Hz electroacupuncture (EA) treatment, 2 Hz EA treatment, or a no-treatment control group. Apnoea scores and number of nocturnal respiratory events decreased significantly in ...

Acupuncture benefits cancer patients

Categories: Cancer

Acupuncture treatment produces measurable benefits in symptom reduction and quality of life (QOL) for patients with advanced ovarian and breast cancer, according to US researchers. In a pilot, single-armed prospective trial, 40 patients with advanced cancer were enrolled to receive 12 acupuncture sessions over eight weeks, with follow-up at weeks 9 and 12. Among all 32 assessed patients, there was ...

Acupuncture relieves diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Categories: Diabetes, Neurological

A Korean pilot study has provided evidence that acupuncture may be useful for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The study compared 42 cases treated with acupuncture with 21 cases exposed to sham acupuncture and observed the effects on nerve conduction velocity and a variety of subjective symptoms associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Three of the six measures relating to m ...

Acupuncture improves dry eyes

Categories: Eye disorders

Acupuncture is as effective as artificial tear therapy (ATC) at reducing the symptoms of xerophthalmia (dry eyes), but the effects of acupuncture last longer. Chinese researchers compared 44 patients who were divided into two groups; one received ten sessions of acupuncture, while the other received ATC over a 21-day period. One hour after completion of treatment, no significant difference in symp ...