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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.

Ginseng is an anti-inflammatory

Categories: Herb research

Cell culture experiments carried out by Chinese researchers have revealed an anti-inflammatory action of ginseng (Ren Shen). They identified nine separate compounds called ginsenosides in ginseng extract. By testing the effects of individual ginsenosides on cell cultures, they showed that seven of them could inhibit the expression of inflammatory markers and suppress cellular pathways associated w ...

Astragalus enhances wound healing

Categories: Herb research

Extracts of the root of Astragalus membranaceus (Huang Qi) have been observed to significantly accelerate cutaneous wound healing. According to a Korean team who observed the process of wound healing at a microscopic level, topically applied Astragalus extract achieves this by suppressing inflammation and stimulating cell growth and angiogenesis (formation of blood vessels) in the wound area. Use ...

CINNAMON INDUCES BLOOD VESSEL FORMATION

Categories: Herb research

Cinnamon extract, which has been used in Chinese medicine to improve blood circulation, can induce angiogenesis (formation of blood vessels). Korean researchers observed the effect of ethanol extract of Cinnamomum cassia (Gui Zhi) on angiogenic processes and found that it induced endothelial cell proliferation, migration and the formation of tubule-like structures in vitro. In in vivo studies, the ...

PATIENT EXPERIENCE OF PLACEBO ACUPUNCTURE

Categories: Acupuncture research

Qualitative analysis of the experiences of patients who underwent placebo treatment as part of the above Harvard IBS trial reveals the complexity of the phenomenon and the effect of taking part in such a study. Almost all subjects reported improvement ranging from dramatic psychosocial changes to clear, progressive symptom improvement, as well as tentative impressions of benefit. In addition they ...

QUALITY OF PATIENT-PRACTITIONER INTERACTION INFLUENCES PLACEBO RESPONSE

Categories: Acupuncture research

The quality of patient-practitioner interaction may be important in eliciting a strong placebo response to acupuncture. Harvard researchers performed an analysis of videotape and psychometric data from a clinical trial of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who were treated with placebo acupuncture in either a warm empathic interaction (augmented group), a neutral interaction (limited gro ...

Anxiety influences physiological effects of acupuncture

Categories: Acupuncture research

Patient anxiety could have an important influence on the physiological response to acupuncture and modify physiological outcomes in acupuncture research. Australian researchers studied the influence of acupuncture on the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic regulation of the heartbeat, using analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). Sixty healthy female subjects were divided into a no-t ...

SAFETY OF ACUPUNCTURE

Categories: Acupuncture research

German researchers have pooled the results of several large trials of acupuncture to evaluate its safety. A total of 229,230 patients received an average of ten acupuncture treatments. Altogether 19,726 patients (8.6%) reported experiencing at least one adverse effect and 4,963 (2.2%) reported one that required treatment. Common adverse effects were bleeding or haematoma (6.1% of patients, 58% of ...

Acupuncture enhances recovery from exercise

Categories: Acupuncture research

Acupuncture can reduce blood lactic acid and enhance recovery from muscle fatigue after exercise, according to Taiwanese scientists. Thirty male university basketball players were randomly assigned to three groups: acupuncture, sham and no treatment. Acupuncture was carried out at Neiguan P-6 and Zusanli ST-36 beginning 15 minutes prior to exercise and continuing until exhaustion of the subject. I ...

New model for acupuncture analgesia

Categories: Acupuncture research

An Australian author has presented a new model for acupuncture anaesthesia. According to his hypothesis, C fibre tactile afferent axons bifurcate at acupuncture points and then diverge, running along acupuncture meridians, to subsequently communicate with Merkel cells. These are sensory cells which are essential for light touch responses. Each Merkel cell is intimately associated with an afferent ...

Real acupuncture turns up the heat

Categories: Acupuncture research

German scientists have used infrared thermography to distinguish between the effect of needling Hegu L.I.-4 and sham acupuncture (needling at a non-acupoint). Thermographic imaging was performed on 50 healthy volunteers randomly assigned to four procedures: acupuncture at Hegu L.I.-4 with needle manipulation, needling of a cutaneous non-acupuncture point, needling of a muscular non-acupuncture poi ...

EAR ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE INCREASES VAGAL ACTIVITY

Categories: Acupuncture research

Electrostimulation of auricular acupuncture points can increase the activity of the vagus nerve, according to the results of a Swiss experiment. Fourteen healthy men participated in four examinations: a no-intervention control, a placebo control and manual and electro-acupuncture (EA) on the concha of the ear (where there is neuroanatomical evidence for vagal afferents). EA, but not manual acupunc ...

Brain study provides evidence for acupoint specifity

Categories: Acupuncture research

The results of a Korean study provide neurobiological evidence for acupoint specificity. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain was performed in 12 normal healthy subjects during electro-acupuncture stimulation (EA) of Yanglingquan GB-34 on the left leg and a sham point (belonging anatomically to the same L5 spinal segment) on the same leg. EA at the acupoint and the sham point ...

30 MINUTES OF ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE OPTIMAL FOR PAIN RELIEF

Categories: Acupuncture research

A team from the USA has found that the duration of electro-acupuncture treatment can affect its analgesic effect. Healthy volunteers were randomised to receive 0, 20, 30 or 40 minutes of electro-acupuncture stimulation (alternating 2/100 Hz at 5mA). Using a cold pain threshold test, the investigators found that 30 min of stimulation resulted in the most significant hypoalgesic effect, which was su ...

RANDOM ASSIGNMENT RESULTS IN FEWER BENEFITS

Categories: Acupuncture research

Korean researchers have found evidence that patients randomly assigned to treatment groups in acupuncture trials receive fewer health benefits from treatment than those who were non-randomly assigned. They carried out a systematic review of six partially randomised acupuncture trials and analysed the pooled data. They found that the randomised acupuncture group comprised patients with different de ...

Qigong effective for type 2 diabetes

Categories: Qigong

An American study has found that 12 weeks of qigong therapy resulted in significant reductions in fasting glucose levels in patients with type two diabetes. Thirty-two age- and sex-matched participants, all of whom were taking oral diabetes medication, were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group one received the qigong intervention, group two served as the control group and group three un ...

Tai chi practitioners are better at pointing the finger

Categories: Tai chi

Ageing has a negative effect on the ability to accurately point a finger toward stationary and moving visual targets. Tai chi practitioners, however, show significantly better accuracy than age-matched control subjects. A team from Hong Kong compared 30 university students (mean age 24) with 30 healthy older control subjects (mean age 72) and 31 experienced (mean 7 years of practice) older tai chi ...

TAI CHI PRACTITIONERS ARE MORE STABLE

Categories: Tai chi

Compared with healthy controls, tai chi practitioners demonstrate better stability and body awareness. A cross-sectional study of 24 tai chi practitioners (mean age 68.5) and 20 age-matched controls carried out in Sweden measured various stability parameters in both groups. The findings showed that tai chi practitioners were able to lean further without losing stability and had better overall body ...

Tai chi is the business at work

Categories: Tai chi

A Canadian study of female computer users has concluded that tai chi (TC) has considerable potential as a cost-effective way of promoting musculoskeletal fitness and psychological well-being in the workplace. Fifty-two participants took part in two 50-minute lunchtime TC classes per week for 12 consecutive weeks. Significant improvements in physiological and psychological measures were observed at ...

Goji berries protect the eye

Categories: Herb research, Eye disorders

In vivo studies have shown that anti-oxidant phytochemicals from Gou Qi Zi (Lycium barbarum fructus, aka Chinese wolfberry or goji berry) can protect eye tissues from oxidative damage. American researchers studying type-2 diabetic mice observed that wolfberry extract could protect retinal pigment epithelial cells from the oxidative stress caused by hyperglycaemia. The researchers have previously s ...

BU GU ZHI STIMULATES BONE GROWTH

Categories: Herb research

Extracts of Bu Gu Zhi (Psoralea corylifolia fructus), a plant known as a Kidney yang tonic in Chinese medicine, can increase bone growth in vivo. The plant, whose Chinese name means 'tonify bone resin' is considered a common weed in Asia and is known colloquially as 'scruffy pea'. Studies in rabbits showed that a total of 275% more new bone was present in bone defects grafted with Bu Gu Zhi extrac ...