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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.

Electroacupuncture for motor recovery in chronic stroke

Categories: Stroke

A US pilot study has compared improvement in upper-limb motor function in chronic stroke survivors who received a combination of acupuncture and strength training, with that of subjects who received strength training alone. Ten chronic stroke patients with moderate or severe wrist muscle spasticity were recruited for the study, which used a crossover design with a random order of either combined e ...

ACUPUNCTURE IMPROVES BALANCE IN STROKE PATIENTS

Categories: Stroke

Investigators in Taiwan have found that acupuncture has an immediate effect on improving balance in stroke patients. In a single-blinded, randomised, controlled study, 30 stroke patients were allocated to experimental and control groups. All participants had needles inserted at Baihui DU-20 and at four surrounding points (1.5 cun anterior, posterior and lateral to Baihui DU-20) for 20 minutes. In ...

CHINESE HERBS AND ECZEMA

Categories: Skin / dermatology

A study has followed up a group of 31 patients with severe atopic eczema who initially took part in a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial of a specific formulation of Chinese herbal therapy. All were offered continued therapy for one year after the trial was completed. Of 17 patients who took up the offer, 12 had a greater than 90% reduction of symptoms and the other 5 had a greater th ...

CHINESE HERBS AND HERPES SIMPLEX

Categories: Skin / dermatology

The combination of various Chinese herbs with proven antiherpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) action combined with acyclovir has been found to have a stronger anti-HSV-1 action than either the herbs or acyclovir alone. They reduced virus yields in the brain and skin more strongly than acyclovir alone, and exhibited stronger anti-HSV-1 activity in the brain than in the skin, in contrast to acyclovir ...

ACUPUNCTURE AND PSORIASIS

Categories: Skin / dermatology

Having become interested in the results of an acupuncturist treating psoriasis, members of a University Dermatology department in Sweden set up this clinical trial. The acupuncturist had treated with traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture (an average of 24 sessions), topical needling, ear acupuncture and Chinese herbal remedies. This trial drew a sample of 56 chronic but stable psoriasis suffer ...

CHINESE HERBS FOR ECZEMA

Categories: Skin / dermatology

A Chinese herbal formula had been found to reduce the production of inflammatory proteins linked with causing eczema. A Hong Kong team assessed the effects of the 'Pentaherbs formulation' (PHF, containing honeysuckle flower (jin yin hua), peppermint (bo he), peony root bark (mu dan pi), atractylodes rhizome (cang zu), and phellodendron bark (huang bai)) on immune cell cultures and patients with at ...

CHINESE HERBS AND ACUPUNCTURE FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS

Categories: Skin / dermatology

A Canadian study has assessed the effectiveness of combining Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Twenty patients (aged 13-48) who had mild-to-severe atopic dermatitis were given a combined treatment of acupuncture twice a week plus a Chinese herbal formula three times daily for a total of 12 weeks. Assessments were performed before treatment, and at week ...

ACUPUNCTURE AND BREATHLESSNESS

Categories: Respiratory disorders

A recent study has explored the benefits of acupuncture in cancer-related breathlessness. 20 patients with breathlessness at rest due to primary or secondary malignancy were treated at Hegu L.I.-4 and at the sternum. 70% of patients reported marked symptomatic relief of breathlessness and anxiety for at least six hours after treatment and there was significant reduction in respiratory rate for nin ...

Acupuncture and asthma

Categories: Respiratory disorders

Anaesthetists from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have reported that the use of acupuncture in bronchial asthma can not only releive symptoms but also reduce the hospital's drugs bill (Schott C. et. al. Erfahrungsheikunde; 45: 5-9).

ACUPUNCTURE & BREATHLESSNESS

Categories: Respiratory disorders

A small crossover study, carried out by Dr. George Lewith from Royal South Hants, into the use of acupuncture for disabling breathlessness has failed to find any significant benefit. 36 patients assigned to receive either a standardised true acupuncture treatment, or a sham acupuncture treatment, showed similar improvements after a first course of treatment, with only minor non-significant greater ...

Chinese herbs for children's asthma

Categories: Babies & children / paediatrics, Respiratory disorders

This joint study carried out by the University of Michigan and the Beijing Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Research Centre compared 102 children who took Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for their mild intermittent asthma with 109 children with similar asthma who used only western medicine (WM). The children using only WM were three times more likely to make hospital emergency department visits, twice as ...

Chinese herbs and asthma

Categories: Respiratory disorders, Allergies

ASHMI, a Chinese preparation comprised of three herbs ( a simplification of a fourteen-herb formula used to treat asthma in Chinese hospitals) was found to be almost as effective as prednisone in a comparative study, with none of the negative affects on adrenal function associated with the prednisone. (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2005, 116 (3): 517-524).

Chinese herbs for asthmatic children

Categories: Babies & children / paediatrics, Respiratory disorders, Allergies

The Chinese herbal formula Ding Chuan Tang, given to 28 stablilised, mild to moderate persistent asthmatic children, aged 8-15, for 12 weeks significantly improved airway hyper-responsiveness compared to 24 children given placebo. (Ding Chuan Tang, a Chinese herb decoction, could improve airway hyper-responsiveness in stabilized asthmatic children: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial. Pediat ...

Acupuncture & allergic asthma

Categories: Respiratory disorders, Allergies

In a randomised controlled study, patients of 18 years or older with allergic asthma were assigned to either routine care plus acupuncture (15 sessions over three months, 184 patients) or routine care alone (173 patients). Patients who did not consent to randomisation also received acupuncture (1088 patients). At three months, asthma specific quality of life and health-related general quality of l ...

Acupuncture causes immediate bronchodilation

Categories: Respiratory disorders

A prospective, single-blinded, randomised crossover-controlled study has been carried out to determine the efficacy of acupuncture in treating asthma. Eighteen patients were randomly assigned to receive one treatment of either real or sham acupuncture. Lung function was assessed immediately before and after the treatment session, using spirometry to measure forced expiratory volume in one second ( ...

Acu-tens improves lung function in COPD

Categories: Respiratory disorders

A single session of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of acupuncture points (Acu-TENS) appears to improve lung function and reduce dyspnoea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In a randomised, placebo-controlled trial carried out in Hong Kong, 46 COPD patients, mean age 75 years, were randomised to receive either 45 minutes of Acu-TENS over bilateral Dingchuan (M-BW-1 ...

Acupressure eases breathing in COPD

Categories: Respiratory disorders

The effect of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment to medication has been investigated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A prospective trial with matched-pair parallel groups of patients was carried out in a Japanese hospital. Thirty patients were divided into two groups. One group received acupuncture treatments once a week for 10 weeks, in addition to medication, while the contr ...

TCM herbs effective for asthma

Categories: Respiratory disorders, Allergies

Evidence supporting the use of TCM in asthma treatment in is increasing. Two American authors have reviewed promising TCM interventions for asthma and explored their mechanisms of action. Possible mechanisms at work include anti-inflammation, inhibition of airway smooth muscle contraction, and immunomodulation. One of the authors has recently presented some preliminary results from a clinical tria ...

Acupuncture and depression

Categories: Psychological / emotional

Researchers at the University of Arizona have tested the value of acupuncture in the treatment of depression. 38 women aged 18 to 45 and suffering from major depression were divided into three groups. One group received eight weeks of acupuncture treatment specifically designed to target their depression. A second group waited for eight weeks and then received the treatment. A third group received ...

Ear acupuncture and anxiety

Categories: Psychological / emotional

A study carried out at Yale University School of Medicine into the use of ear acupuncture and anxiety has shown that whilst there was no significant physiological change after acupuncture, those treated bilaterally at the