NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS RESEARCH (© JCM Ltd)

ACUPUNCTURE INCREASES CEREBRAL GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE
A small Chinese study has investigated the effects of acupuncture on the brain of Parkinson's disease patients using positron emission tomography (PET). Five patients received scalp-acupuncture together with Madopar (levodopa and benserazide hydrochloride), while the other five received Madopar only. PET scans before and after five weeks of acupuncture treatment showed increased glucose metabolism in the parietal, temporal and occipital lobes, the thalamus and the cerebellum of the less-diseased hemisphere and in the parietal and occipital lobes of the severely-diseased hemisphere. No changes were observed in the Madopar-only group. The authors conclude that acupuncture in combination with Madopar may improve cerebral glucose metabolism in Parkinson's disease. (Complementary acupuncture treatment increases cerebral metabolism in patients with Parkinson's disease. Int J Neurosci. 2009;119(8):1190-7).

ACUPUNCTURE FOR PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY
In a clinical trial of 21 HIV infected individuals with peripheral neuropathy treated by acupuncture, it was found that the treatment significantly reduced pain, aching, burning, pins and needles and numbness of the hands and feet. 10 treatments were given over a 5-week period. (J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Jun;10(3):449-55).

ACUPUNCTURE FOR SPASTIC CEREBRAL PALSY
This randomised study assessed parents’ perceptions of the benefits of 6 months of acupuncture or osteopathy treatment of 50 children with spastic cerebral palsy. 96% of parents reported improvements, the most frequent of which were better use of the arms or legs (61% and 68%) and more restful sleep (39% and 68%) in the osteopathic and acupuncture groups respectively.Improved mood and bowel movements were reported in both groups. (Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2004 May;43(4):349-53).

ACUPUNCTURE & PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Twenty Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients (mean age 68 years; disease duration 8.5 years) each received acupuncture treatments by a licensed acupuncturist. All patients were treated with two acupuncture treatment sessions per week. The first seven patients received 10 treatments and the last 13 patients 16 treatments. Patients were evaluated before and after acupuncture with the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, quantitative motor tests, including timed evaluations of arm pronation supination movements, finger dexterity, finger movements between two fixed measured points, and the stand-walk-sit test; and a patient questionnaire designed for the study. Following acupuncture, there were no significant changes most scores and analysis of the 12 SIP categories not corrected for multiple comparisons revealed a post-treatment improvement in the sleep and rest category only. On the patient questionnaire, 85% of patients reported subjective improvement of individual symptoms including tremor, walking, handwriting, slowness, pain, sleep, depression, and anxiety. There were no adverse effects. The main improvement observed was in PD-related sleep disturbance, although patients reported other discrete symptomatic improvements. (Movement Disorders 2002 Jul;17(4):799-802 )