Toggle Nav

Search

Currency

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 EFFECT ON HOT FLUSHES NOT SUSTAINED

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

A follow-up study on acupuncture for menopausal hot flushes has reported that the benefits found immediately post-treatment do not persist. An earlier study of 267 postmenopausal women found that 12 weeks of individualised acupuncture plus self-care produced a clinically relevant reduction in hot flushes and increased health-related quality of life compared with self-care alone. The new study foun ...

Acupuncture better than drugs for cancer hot flushes

Categories: Gynaecology, Menopausal syndrome

Not only is acupuncture as effective as drug therapy at preventing hot flushes in breast cancer patients who have been receiving long-term anti-oestrogen therapy, it also increases women's sex drive and improves their sense of well-being. Venlafaxine (Effexor - a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) - the therapy of choice for such symptoms - has numerous adverse effects. An American team rando ...

Acupuncture good for period pain

Categories: Gynaecology, Gynaecological

Authors of a Korean systematic review have found promising evidence for the use of acupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea. Twenty-seven RCTs (data from nearly 3000 women) were included in their analysis, which showed that, compared with pharmacological treatment or herbal medicine, acupuncture was associated with a significant reduction in pain. Two RCTs that compared acupuncture wi ...

Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis

Categories: Hay fever, Nose and mouth, Allergies

A group from Taiwan has assessed the effect of acupuncture on clinical outcomes and gene expression profiles of patients suffering from perennial allergic rhinitis and found differences between atopic and non-atopic cases. The Phadiatop test was used to classify 21 patients with allergic rhinitis as either atopic (Ph+) or non-atopic (Ph-). All patients received eight sessions of acupuncture treatm ...

Acupuncture reduces allergic itching

Categories: Skin / dermatology, Allergies

Acupuncture can significantly reduce itching in patients with atopic eczema. A German study has investigated the effect of acupuncture on type I hypersensitivity itch and skin reaction in a crossover RCT. An allergen stimulus was applied to the skin of 30 patients with atopic eczema before (direct approach) and after (preventive approach) the following treatments: acupuncture at Quchi L.I.-11 and ...

Acupuncture for fibromyalgia

Categories: Fibromyaigia

German authors have systematically reviewed the efficacy of acupuncture for fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Seven RCTs (385 patients) with a median treatment time of nine sessions were included. Strong evidence for reduction of pain was found immediately post-treatment, although this was only present in studies judged to be at risk of bias. There was no evidence for reduction of fatigue or sleep dist ...

PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS DON'T AFFECT RESPONSE TO ACUPUNCTURE

Categories: Psychological / emotional

American researchers report that psychiatric comorbidity does not affect response to acupuncture treatment for chronic low back pain (CLBP), nor does it modify the effect of expectations on acupuncture response. In a controlled, blinded crossover trial verum acupuncture at Hegu L.I.-4 was compared with validated sham acupuncture in 40 CLBP patients, who were divided into two groups with a low or h ...

ACUPUNCTURE MINIMALLY BENEFICIAL FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS

Categories: Arthritis

The latest systematic review to assess the effects of acupuncture for treating peripheral joint osteoarthritis (OA) has concluded that although there is evidence of benefit, it is probably not clinically relevant and may be partially due to placebo effects. The German authors included 16 trials involving 3498 people in their analysis. In comparison with a sham control, acupuncture showed statistic ...

ACUPUNCTURE MAKES WALKING EASIER

Categories: Knee

Walking gait patterns in knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients are significantly improved after acupuncture, probably due to pain relief, according to Taiwanese researchers. Twenty patients with bilateral medial knee OA were randomly assigned either to a standard 30-minute electro-acupuncture treatment or a sham treatment. Visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores decreased significantly after acupuncture ...

Acupuncture helps with temporomandibular disorders

Categories: Temperomandibular / Jaw

Needling active myofascial trigger points (TrPs) in the jaw muscles of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) increases pain tolerance and improves jaw-opening ability, according to research carried out in Spain. Twelve female TMD patients attended two treatment sessions on separate days and at each visit were randomly assigned to receive either deep or sham needling at the most painful ...

Acupuncture helps with prostatitis pain

Categories: Male disorders, Pelvic

A pilot study in Turkey has found that acupuncture can improve symptoms and quality of life for men diagnosed with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). A cohort of 97 patients received six weekly sessions of acupuncture at bilateral Zhongliao BL-33. The results showed that there was a statistically significant decrease in all prostatitis symptom scores (pain, urinary functio ...

Acupuncture reduces lure of smoking images

Categories: Substance abuse

Korean researchers have found that acupuncture treatment can reduce the amount of attention that smokers pay to smoking-related visual cues, and that this is associated with improvement in cigarette withdrawal symptoms. Previous research into substance abuse has shown that addictive behaviours are characterised by increased selective attention (attentional bias) towards substance-related stimuli. ...

Acupuncture effective alternative for pregnancy depression

Categories: Psychological / emotional, Pregnancy & labour

Acupuncture is an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy, according to a new American study. A hundred and fifty pregnant women with a diagnosis of major depression were randomised to receive 12 sessions of acupuncture consisting of a standardised point prescription specific for depression, or one of two active controls - control acupuncture or massage - over eight weeks. Women who re ...

Qigong & drug addiction

Categories: Qigong

A study carried out at the Changzhou Drug Treatment Centre in China by Prof. Kevin Chen (of the University of Medicine & Dentistry, Newark, New Jersey) and two Chinese colleagues, has examined the potential benefit of qigong in heroin addiction. 86 heroin addicts between the ages of 18 and 52 years who had been using heroin for an average of 5.5 years, were divided into 3 groups. The qigong gr ...

Qigong, tai chi and diabetes

Categories: Qigong

A pilot study funded by the Diabetes Australia Research Trust and carried out by a team from the University of Queensland has indicated that qigong and tai chi exercises can significantly improve several markers of metabolic syndrome. At the end of the three month study, the 11 participants demonstrated significant improvement in several indicators of metabolic syndrome including HbA1c, blood pres ...

Qigong training reduces computer operator's stress

Categories: Qigong

A study has investigated the effects of qigong on stress among computer operators. Ten women were included in a qigong exercise group and an equal number in a control group. Heart rate, blood pressure and finger temperature were measured at the beginning and end of the working day over a period of five weeks. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected in the first and last weeks to measure cate ...

Qigong training improves exercise capacity

Categories: Qigong

Qigong training can increase the exercise capacity of patients with cardiac impairment. A controlled trial enlisted thirty men and thirteen women, average age 68, suffering from chronic atrial fibrillation. They were randomised to either a 16-week medically assisted qigong training program or to a waiting-list control group. Functional capacity variation was evaluated by measuring how far patients ...

Qigong and exercise therapy both reduce chronic neck pain

Categories: Neck, Qigong

Qigong and exercise therapy are both effective at reducing chronic neck pain. 122 patients, mean age 44, with long-term, nonspecific neck pain were randomised to either group qigong lessons, or individualised exercise therapy. Patients received a maximum of 12 treatments over three months. Improvement was significant in both groups immediately after treatment for most outcome measures, and this wa ...

Qiqong enhances flu shot

Categories: Immunity, Qigong

Researchers in the USA have found that a combination of tai chi and qigong (TQ) can enhance older adults' immune responses to the flu vaccine. A group of 50 adults in their 70s, were randomised TQ or no exercise. The TQ group attended three one-hour classes per week, consisting of tai chi and qigong movements along with standing and seated meditation. All participants received a flu vaccination at ...

Pain, the brain & qigong

Categories: Qigong

Functional changes relating to pain processing occur in the brain during the practice of qigong. Chinese researchers used fMRI to observe the brains of four male qigong masters (each with more than 30 years experience) while they practicsed qigong after receiving a painful stimulus. After 15 minutes qigong practice, many previously activated areas of the brain showed decreased activity, with the e ...