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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.

Moxibustion fights chronic fatigue through 'antioxidant' activity

Categories: Fatigue, Acupuncture research

Researchers from South Korea have found clinical evidence for an anti-fatigue effect of indirect moxibustion and suggest that the effect could be because the technique acts like an antioxidant. An RCT was performed with 44 patients who had idiopathic chronic fatigue. Subjects were treated with either moxibustion (indirect moxibustion on Guanyuan REN-4 and Shenque REN-8) or a placebo procedure, thr ...

Acupuncture promotes weight loss by regulating hunger hormones

Categories: Obesity

Acupuncture may help to regulate weight in obese subjects because of its beneficial effects on hormones that influence hunger and satiation.

Tai chi helps seniors with depression

Categories: Psychological / emotional, Tai chi

A meta-analysis suggests that tai chi can help reduce symptoms of depression in older adults. Authors from the USA and China analysed four trials with a total of 253 participants. Compared with waiting list control groups, tai chi appeared to have a significant impact on reducing depressive symptoms. (Tai chi and reduction of depressive symptoms for older adults: A meta-analysis of randomized tria ...

Tai chi beneficial in rheumatoid arthritis

Categories: Arthritis , Tai chi

A pilot study suggests that practicing tai chi can help people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis both mentally and physically. A pragmatic non-randomised before/after study compared the effects of two interventions on 21 RA patients who were allocated into two groups. Both groups followed a tai chi exercise programme, twice a week for 12 weeks, and one group also received auricular acupressure t ...

Acupuncture helps ease breathing in COPD

Categories: Respiratory disorders

According to a trial carried out in Japan, acupuncture is associated with clinically relevant improvements of dyspnoea on exertion (DOE) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sixty-eight patients with COPD were randomised to either real or non-penetrating placebo acupuncture for 12 weeks, in addition to standard medication. A standardised acupuncture protocol was used (Zho ...

Red yeast rice prevents death in heart disease patients

Categories: Heart / Cardiac, Diet research

A meta-analysis by Chinese authors suggests that Xuezhikang (a partially purified extract of fermented red yeast rice) has a lipid-regulating effect and is safe and effective in reducing cardiovascular events in coronary heart disease patients (CHD).

Acupuncture improves dyspepsia

Categories: Digestive & Bowel disorders

A Chinese study has found that acupuncture treatment can significantly improve symptoms and quality of life for functional dyspepsia (FD) patients and that this correlates with specific changes in brain activity.

Acupuncture provides additional benefit in IBS

Categories: Digestive & Bowel disorders

A large trial of acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has shown that the treatment has significant benefits.

Tai chi increases brain size and improves memory in seniors

Categories: Tai chi, Geriatric

A joint Chinese-US research team has found that practising tai chi leads to increased brain volume and improved cognitive function in elderly people. One hundred and twenty older adults without symptoms of dementia were randomised to four groups (tai chi, walking, social interaction and no intervention) for 40 weeks. Two MRIs were obtained, one before the intervention period, the other after. A ba ...

Acupuncture as good as NSAIDs for radiating pain from intervertebral disc pathology

Categories: Back

Acupuncture is a promising therapeutic option for the management of radicular pain of discogenic origin, according to Turkish researchers.

Acupuncture for acute back pain

Categories: Back

A Spanish multicentre trial investigating acupuncture for the treatment of acute back pain has found real, sham and placebo acupuncture to be effective, with all three better than conventional treatment alone.

Acupuncture helps with acute migraines

Categories: Headache & migraine

A Chinese group has found that acupuncture is significantly superior to sham for the treatment of acute migraines.

Epimedium formulae increase bone density and prevent postmenopausal fractures

Categories: Menopausal syndrome

A five-year, multicentre clinical study carried out in China has demonstrated that taking a kidney-tonifying herbal formula increased bone mineral density and significantly reduced the incidence of fragility fractures in postmenopausal women.

Acupuncture as effective as physiotherapy in post-stroke rehabilitation

Categories: Stroke

A large multicentre RCT from China has found that acupuncture plus conventional care was similar in effectiveness to physiotherapy treatment plus conventional care for post-stroke rehabilitation.

Acupuncture offers GPs low-cost alternative to knee surgery

Categories: Arthritis , Knee

British researchers have found that acupuncture offers an acceptable, low-cost alternative to knee replacement for sufferers of osteoarthritis (OA).

Acupuncture has benefits for knee osteoarthritis

Categories: Arthritis , Knee

A three-armed RCT carried out by Greek investigators has shown that a combination of acupuncture plus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is significantly more effective for chronic pain due to knee osteoarthritis (OA) than either sham acu ...

ICSI is associated with birth defects

Categories: Infertility

The results of a large Australian observational study suggest that intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is linked to an increased risk of birth defects compared with spontaneous conception.

Breast cancer tissue contains parabens

Categories: Cancer, Lifestyle research

A study from the UK has found that breast tissue samples from women who underwent mastectomies for breast cancer contained traces of parabens (p-hydroxybenzoic acid), preservatives commonly used in deodorants, body lotions and other cosmetic products ...

BPA associated with obesity, insulin resistance and heart disease

Categories: Diabetes, Heart / Cardiac, Obesity, Lifestyle research, Diet research

A high urinary concentration of the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) has been positively associated with obesity and insulin resistance in older Chinese adults.

Glaxo to develop TCM

Categories: Herb research

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is poised to begin developing products based on traditional Chinese medicines as part of its revamped research and development strategy.