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.

Tai chi is a more effective 'antioxidant' than walking

Categories: Tai chi

A Mexican research team reports that practising tai chi produces a greater antioxidant effect in the body than walking. The researchers carried out a quasi-experimental study of 106 healthy older adults (60 and 74 years of age) who were divided into a control group, a walking group and a tai chi group. Levels of oxidative stress and lipid markers were measured in participants’ blood before a ...

Tai chi for knee osteoarthritis

Categories: Arthritis , Knee, Tai chi

A systematic review by Danish authors has found moderate evidence for short-term improvement of pain, physical function and stiffness in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who practice tai chi. Five RCTs with a total of 252 patients were included. Analysis showed moderate overall evidence of short-term effectiveness for pain, physical function and stiffness. Strong evidence was found for sho ...

Tai chi decreases numbers of inflammatory cells in the blood

Categories: Tai chi

One hour of tai chi practice can decrease the numbers of pro-inflammatory lymphocytes circulating in the blood stream, a US pilot study suggests. Healthy subjects were asked to perform tai chi for one hour. Four millilitres of peripheral blood was collected immediately prior and after one hour of practice. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and assessed for pro-inflammatory m ...

Meditation boosts genes that promote good health

Categories: Lifestyle research

Meditation boosts the activity of genes involved in several processes beneficial to health, American scientists report. The investigators analysed the gene profiles of 26 volunteers, none of whom regularly meditated, before teaching them a 10 to 20 minute meditation routine involving reciting words, breathing exercises and attempting to exclude everyday thoughts. After eight weeks of performing th ...

Dietary compound kills cancer cells

Categories: Cancer, Diet research

Apigenin, a flavonoid found in fruits and vegetables, could be behind the anti-cancer effects of the Mediterranean diet, according to researchers from the USA. The compound, which is most abundant in chamomile tea, parsley and celery, was shown to be able to switch on the process of apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cultured breast cancer cells. The researchers also showed that apigenin binds w ...

Pain relief is correlated with belief

Categories: Acupuncture research

A Danish study has attempted to discern the contribution of specific and non-specific factors to acupuncture analgesia in patients undergoing dental surgery.

Not all placebos are created equal

Categories: Acupuncture research

The placebo effects of different therapies are not identical, and patients who respond to one type of placebo may not respond to others, according to research from the USA. In a crossover study, researchers tested the analgesic effects of four treatments on pain sensitivity in 48 healthy volunteers. The four treatments were placebo pills, sham acupuncture, verum electro-acupuncture and a no-treatm ...

Acupuncturists have different brains

Categories: Acupuncture research

Acupuncturists outperform non-acupuncturists (NA) in tests of behavioural skills associated with their profession and this is reflected in structural differences in their brains.

Better to miss the point than to miss the channel

Categories: Acupuncture research

Needling non-acupoints that lie on an acupuncture channel has a stronger effect on blood perfusion (BP) in the surrounding tissue than needling non-acupoints that do not line on a channel.

Cordyceps extract switches off inflammatory genes

Categories: Herb research

Cordycepin, one of the active components of the Chinese herb cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao), reduces the production of inflammatory gene products in cultured human airway smooth muscle cells - the cells which contract during an asthma attack.

Herbal medicine for inflammatory bowel disease

Categories: Digestive & Bowel disorders

Randomised controlled trials of herbal therapy for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) show encouraging results, but studies remain limited and heterogenous. Authors from Hong Kong analysed 21 RCTs including a total of 1484 subjects. For ulcerative colitis (UC), aloe vera gel, wheat grass juice, Andrographis paniculata extract (Chuan Xin Lian) and topical Xi Lei San (administered by ...

Needle rotation and sensation are important for acupuncture effect

Categories: Acupuncture research

Needle rotation and sensation play an important role in the effects of acupuncture, Korean investigators report.

Organ specific effects of acupuncture points

Categories: Acupuncture research

Japanese researchers have found evidence that acupuncture points have specific actions on the autonomic functions of particular internal organs.

Acupuncture for assisted reproductive technology

Categories: Infertility

There is no evidence that acupuncture improves live birth or pregnancy rates in assisted conception, according to an update of a Cochrane Database systematic review.

Is ATP the key to acupuncture's effects?

Categories: Acupuncture research

A British neuroscientist has proposed that a novel extracellular signalling system, based on adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP), is the mechanism underlying the effects of acupuncture.

Herbal formula protects against bleeding oesophageal varices

Categories: Digestive & Bowel disorders, Miscellaneous disorders

A study carried out in China has found that a herbal formula, Fuzheng Huayu Capsule (FZHYC) can reduce the risk of bleeding and improve survival rates in liver cirrhosis patients with oesophageal varices.

Acupuncture for menopausal hot flushes

Categories: Menopausal syndrome

Another Cochrane Database systematic review has found insufficient evidence to determine whether acupuncture is effective for controlling menopausal vasomotor symptoms.

'Four Gates' treatment normalises GI motility

Categories: Digestive & Bowel disorders

An experimental study had found that acupuncture at the ‘Four Gates’ (Siguan) can normalise accelerated gastrointestinal (GI) motility.

Acupuncture for fibromyalgia

Categories: Fibromyaigia, Miscellaneous

A Cochrane Database systematic review has summarised the current evidence for the use of acupuncture in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Qigong reduces cancer therapy side effects

Categories: Cancer, Qigong

A pilot study carried out in Hong Kong suggests that qigong could reduce cancer therapy side effects such as upper limb lymphoedema and poor circulation in survivors of breast cancer.