Research Archive

Korean researchers have found that acupuncture benefits post-stroke-onset insomnia by reducing sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity. Fifty-two hospitalised stroke patients with insomnia were randomly assigned to either real acupuncture (RA) or sham acupuncture (SA). The RA group received acupuncture at Shenmen HE-7 and Neiguan P-6 over three days, while the SA group received sham acupuncture a ...

Imbalance between Type one (Th1) and Type two (Th2) helper T-cell functions and the resulting increase in inflammatory response have been implicated in major depression. A study by Canadian scientists has investigated the relationship between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in depressed patients and the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) and fluoxetine (Prozac) treatment on these cytokines. N ...

Hong Kong researchers have carried out a pilot study suggesting that acupuncture is beneficial in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that is refractory to pharmacological and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Nineteen patients with treatment-resistant OCD were assigned to either electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment for 12 sessions (five sessions per week) or a waiting list control, wh ...

Acupuncture stimulation may help improve language and social functioning in children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) according to a study carried out in Hong Kong. Thirty-two children with ASD were randomly assigned to treatment or a waiting list control. Those in the treatment group received 30 sessions of stimulation using a seven-star needle on the head, front and back of their body over ...

Acupuncture appears to be effective in the treatment of insomnia according to a systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by Chinese authors. Forty-six randomised trials involving 3811 patients were included and the methodological quality of trials was judged to be generally fair. Meta-analyses showed a beneficial effect for acupuncture compared with no treatment, and for real acupressure co ...

A Korean systematic review of studies examining the use of acupuncture in treating the symptoms of schizophrenia has provided some evidence for its effectiveness. Thirteen randomised clinical trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria. One RCT reported significant effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) plus drug therapy for improving auditory hallucinations and positive symptoms compared with sham EA p ...

Scalp acupuncture (SAP) may improve language development in children with autism. Twenty autistic children (4-7 years old) were divided into two groups, both of which underwent twice-weekly sessions of language therapy aimed at stimulation of cognitive and verbal abilities, over a period of nine months. Half of them also received twice-weekly SAP sessions using Baihui DU-20, Renzhong DU-26, Naohu ...