Quote of the day:'It is man himself, not Heaven, who governs his life, and he who abuses himself dies young, while he who takes good care of himself enjoys a long life.'
Gao Lian (in Eight Essays on the Importance of Life Preservation)
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Latest News
ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTIVE AGAINST PREGNANCY DEPRESSIONAcupuncture 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 received specific acupuncture experienced a greater rate of decrease in symptom severity compared with the combined controls or control acupuncture alone. They also showed a significantly greater response rate (63.0%) than the combined controls (44.3%) and control acupuncture alone (37.5%). Symptom reduction and response rates did not differ significantly between the controls. The authors conclude that the results achieved with acupuncture are similar to those achieved with standard depression treatments of similar duration. (Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar;115(3):511-20).An update of a 2005 Cochrane systematic review concludes that there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend the use of acupuncture for people with depression, but notes that recommendations for practice cannot be made until further high quality research has been undertaken. Twenty-three new studies were added to the original pooled data, giving a total of 30 trials with 2812 participants in the meta-analysis. The authors concluded that there was insufficient evidence of a consistent beneficial effect from acupuncture compared with a wait list control or sham acupuncture control. Despite this, acupuncture performed well in comparisons against medication - the majority of trials found them to be equally effective in reducing the severity of depression. Two trials found acupuncture may have additional benefit when combined with medication compared with medication alone. A subgroup of participants with depression as a co-morbidity experienced a reduction in depression with manual acupuncture compared with SSRIs (three trials, 94 participants). (Acupuncture for depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Jan 20;(1):CD004046).
ACUPUNCTURE HELPS WITH PROSTATITIS PAIN
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 function, quality of life subscores and overall score) evaluated at all periods compared with baseline. Ninety-two per cent of patients were classified as responders (showing more than a 50% decrease in overall prostatitis symptom scores from baseline) at the end of the treatment. (Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Patients with Category IIIB Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Report of 97 Patients. Pain Med. 2010 Jan 22. [Epub ahead of print]).
ACUPUNCTURE REDUCES ALLERGIC ITCHING
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 Xuehai SP-10 (verum acupuncture, VA), sham acupuncture at non-acupuncture points (placebo acupuncture, PA), or no acupuncture (NA). Subjective itch intensity was recorded using a visual analogue scale and an itch questionnaire (IQ). Objective measurements of wheal and flare size and skin perfusion (via LASER-Doppler) were carried out at the stimulus site ten minutes after application of allergen. The scientists found that acupuncture performed within minutes of initial exposure to the allergen (direct approach) appeared to soothe subjective feelings of itchiness - itch intensity and IQ scores were significantly lower with VA compared to NA and PA. They also found that, when patients were exposed to the allergen after acupuncture (preventive approach), not only did subjective itch intensity and mean IQ scores decrease (significantly lower with VA and PA compared to NA), but they also tended to have a less severe skin reaction. Mean wheal and flare size were significantly smaller with VA compared to PA and NA, and mean perfusion was significantly less with VA than with NA. The results additionally showed that the preventive effect of verum acupuncture on subjective itch sensation diminished over time, whereas its suppressive effect on skin-prick reactions increased over time. (Influence of acupuncture on type I hypersensitivity itch and the wheal and flare response in adults with atopic eczema - a blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Allergy.. [Epub ahead of print]).
ACUPUNCTURE BETTER THAN DRUGS FOR CANCER HOT FLUSHES
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 randomly assigned fifty patients to receive 12 weeks of acupuncture or venlafaxine treatment. Both groups exhibited significant decreases in hot flushes, depressive symptoms and other quality-of-life symptoms, including significant improvements in mental health. These changes were similar in both groups, indicating that acupuncture was as effective as venlafaxine. By two weeks post-treatment, the venlafaxine group experienced significant increases in hot flushes, whereas hot flushes in the acupuncture group remained at low levels. The venlafaxine group experienced 18 incidences of adverse effects (nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, anxiety), whereas the acupuncture group experienced no negative effects. Acupuncture had the additional benefit of increasing sex drive in some women, and most reported improvements in their energy, clarity of thought and sense of well-being. (Acupuncture versus venlafaxine for the management of vasomotor symptoms in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2010 Feb 1;28(4):634-40).
