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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 PREVENTS 'FLU

Categories: Immunity

Older nursing home residents, 90% of whom had received the current ‘flu vaccine, who received an extract of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) in the form of the proprietary product Cold-FX, were 86% less likely to contract influenza than those who receive a placebo. (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Vol. 52, January 2004, pp. 13-19).

Herbs boost immunity

Categories: Immunity, Herb research

In a study on 16 healthy subjects it was found that Echinacea purpurea, Huang Qi (Astragali Radix) and Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix) were effective in boosting key blood lymphocytes, the basic building block of the immune system. Echinacea and Gan Cao stimulated proliferation of CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells and NK cells, all three herbs (administered either singly or in combination) were able to activa ...

ACUPUNCTURE BALANCES ANXIOUS IMMUNE SYSTEM

Categories: Immunity

Acupuncture has been found to counteract impairment of the immune system associated with anxiety. Thirty-four female patients, 30-60 years old, suffering from anxiety, received ten acupuncture sessions during the course of a year (leading to complete remission in all cases). Sessions lasted 30 min and 19 points were used. Blood samples were taken from all patients before and 72 hours after the fir ...

American ginseng & colds

Categories: Immunity

Consumption of North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) appears to confer some immunity to catching colds. Two hundred and seventy-nine subjects were randomised to receive either 400mg of freeze-dried ginseng or placebo for four months. Consumption of the ginseng was a associated with a decreased mean number of colds and reduced total symptom scores and days of illness. (Predy GN et al. Effica ...

Acupuncture benefits immunity

Categories: Immunity

Japanese researchers have investigated the effect of acupuncture on the human immune system. They measured CD-positive cell counts and cytokine expression levels in the peripheral blood of fifteen healthy volunteers before and after acupuncture, to determine the activity of T cells, B cells, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of ...

ASTRALAGUS EXTRACT FIGHTS HIV AND AGEING

Categories: Immunity

A drug extracted from a Chinese herb traditionally used to boost the immune system has been found to help immune cells fight HIV and could possibly slow the ageing process. Cells lose the ability to divide as they age because their telomeres (caps of repetitive DNA found at the ends of chromosomes) become progressively shorter with each cell division. As a result, in the case of immune cells, path ...

CHINESE MEDICINE AND AIDS

Categories: HIV / AIDS

Research carried out at the American College of TCM's HIV clinic programme, based on quarterly health surveys, demonstrated that the following symptoms were most responsive to treatment by Chinese medicine: weight loss, enlarged lymph nodes, abdominal pain, nausea and headaches. For other symptoms such as neuropathy, sore throat and common cold, the findings were more ambiguous. The research will ...

ACUPUNCTURE AND HIV PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY

Categories: HIV / AIDS

Although both acupuncture and the antidepressant amitriptyline are used to treat pain due to HIV-related nerve damage, neither treatment has been found to be effective. More than 30% of patients infected with HIV develop peripheral neuropathy. 250 HIV-positive patients with peripheral neuropathy were tested over the course of 14 weeks. Some received true acupuncture on acupuncture points recommend ...

ACUPUNCTURE HELPS COUNTER AIDS DRUGS SIDE-EFFECTS

Categories: HIV / AIDS

In a study of 50 HIV-infected adults (half with full-blown AIDS) taking HIV medicines, all initially complained of at least two digestive side-effects: gas (80%), bloating (40%), cramps (50%), appetite loss (50%) and loss of weight (10%). All participants received six weeks of acupuncture - the first three weeks at acupuncture points designed to treat digestive symptoms and the last three weeks at ...

ACUPUNCTURE IN ANGINA PECTORIS

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

A study carried out at the Department of Internal Medicine P. Rigshospitalet in Denmark found that acupuncture treatment decreased the time of onset of attacks of angina pectoris pain by 10%, reduced nitroglycerin consumption by 58%, and reduced the attack rate by 38%. There was additionally a noticeable improvement in exercise tolerance among the treated patients. The study also showed that there ...

ACUPUNCTURE HELPS HEART PATIENTS

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

Research carried out at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine has shown that acupuncture can dramatically reduce the pressure on the heart in patients with severe heart failure. Over-activation of the sympathetic nervous communication between the brain and the heart is common in heart failure patients, with advanced heart failure patients often having two or three times more ...

Acupuncture and cardiovascular disease

Categories: Heart / Cardiac, Hypertension

The Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California has received a $2 million, five-year federal grant to continue studying how acupuncture can help treat cardiovascular illnesses such as heart disease, hypertension and arrhythmias. This grant extends a previous five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The study, lead by Dr. John Longhurst, a ...

ANGINA PECTORIS: INTEGRATED REHABILITATION

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

This study was designed to compare the outcomes and treatment costs of patients with advanced angina pectoris who were treated with integrated rehabilitation compared to known statistics for similar patients treated by surgery or other care. 168 patients took part in the study, 103 of whom were candidates for invasive treatment and 63 of whom had been rejected for such treatment due to the risk of ...

TAI CHI FOR HEART FAILURE

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

Tai chi can enhance sleep stability in patients with chronic heart failure. Researchers analysed 24-hour continuous ECG data obtained in a clinical trial of tai chi in 18 patients with heart failure. At 12 weeks, those who participated in tai chi showed a significant increase in EEG parameters that indicated improved sleep stability. These improvements were correlated with better disease-specific ...

Acupuncture for cardiac arrhythmias

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

A review article from authors in the USA supports the use of acupuncture in treating cardiac arrhythmias. According to the eight studies reviewed, 87% to 100% of participants converted to normal sinus rhythm after acupuncture. However, the limited methodological quality of current studies necessitates better-controlled clinical trials. (The effects of acupuncture on cardiac arrhythmias: a literatu ...

HERBAL MEDICINES SAY NO TO CIRCULATORY DISEASE

Categories: Heart / Cardiac

Research from the USA suggests that traditional Chinese herbal medicines (TCMs) used to treat cardiovascular disease may act by producing large amounts of nitric oxide (NO). NO is a chemical messenger molecule that is crucial to the cardiovascular system because of its vasodilatory action. It promotes blood flow through the heart and circulatory system, eliminates blood clots, lowers high blood pr ...

ACUPUNCTURE IN LONG-TERM MIGRAINE

Categories: Headache & migraine

A study carried out in Austria has demonstrated the long-term benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of migraine. 26 patients were treated by local and distal body points, once weekly, for between 6 and 13 treatments. The majority showed reduced frequency of attacks and use of analgesics. Significantly, a follow-up survey showed maintained improvement over a 3-year period. (Headache, 1995; 35(8) ...

ACUPUNCTURE & MIGRAINE

Categories: Headache & migraine

Women who opt for acupuncture instead of a drug to prevent migraines report feeling fewer initial symptoms, fewer attacks, and less side effects from the treatment, new study findings report. The study, carried out at the Woman's Headache Centre at the University of Turin, Italy, compared the effect of acupuncture with oral flunarizine in preventing non-aura migraine over a 6-month period. The 160 ...

ACUPUNCTURE FOR CHRONIC HEADACHE

Categories: Headache & migraine

Acupuncture has demonstrated a clear long-term benefit for patients suffering from chronic headaches. 401 patients were randomly assigned to receive either individualised acupuncture treatment (12 treatments over 3 months), or normal care from their general practitioner (control). At 12 months after the onset of treatment, headache scores in the acupuncture group fell by 34% (compared to 16% in th ...

CHINESE MEDICINE FOR CHRONIC HEADACHES

Categories: Headache & migraine

This German study compared the number of days of moderate headache experienced by two groups of chronic headache sufferers, one after 4 weeks of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture treatment at a Chinese medicine hospital in Kotzting, Germany, and the other assigned to a non-treatment waiting group. Fifty-two percent of patients in the treatment group experienced a greater than 50% reduction i ...