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Research: Clinical Outcomes

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• 07/09/2014  Acupuncture & Herbs Best Pharmaceutical For Headaches
  [HealthCMi] A new study concludes that acupuncture combined with herbal medicine is more effective than drugs for the treatment of headaches.

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• 07/03/2014   Acupuncture Restores Hand Function for Paralysis Patients
  [HealthCMi] New research proves that acupuncture combined with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is effective for restoring hand function in hemiplegic patients.

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• 07/01/2014  Acupuncture Controls Overactive Bladder
  [HealthCMi] Researchers have discovered that acupuncture is effective for controlling overactive bladder syndrome. The research team, a combination of Whipps Cross University Hospital and University College of London Hospital investigators, document that 79% of patients in the study showed clinically significant improvements.

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• 06/28/2014  Acupuncture Pain Killing Mystery Revealed
  [HealthCMi] Researchers have discovered that acupuncture causes a special biochemical reaction that reduces inflammation and muscle pain. The study, published in Molecular Neurobiology, investigated the effects of needling one acupuncture point on the leg. The research team measured a remarkable effect.

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• 06/26/2014   Acupuncture Improves Head Trauma Recovery - New Research
  [HealthCMi] An investigative team at the Rehabilitation Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xian Jiaotong University (Shaanxi) compared acupuncture combined with standard care with a control group receiving only standard medical interventions. The addition of acupuncture therapy to the conventional regime of care significantly reduced complications and improved the survival rate.

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• 06/21/2014   Acupuncture Targets Lung Cancer Chemotherapy Drug
  [HealthCMi] New research confirms that acupuncture enhances the delivery of an important chemotherapy drug for the treatment of lung cancer to the lungs while simultaneously protecting the liver and kidneys.

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• 06/20/2014   Acupuncture Heals Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  [HealthCMi] Researchers conclude that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). A remarkable finding was made in this study. Acupuncture combined with interferential current therapy increased the success rate of acupuncture. The total effective rate of acupuncture as a standalone procedure was 80.0%. Adding interferential current therapy to the regime of care increased the total effective rate to 93.3%.

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• 06/19/2014   Migraine Vanishes With Acupuncture and Tuina
  [HealthCMi] Researchers compared a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) combination of acupuncture and tuina massage with the oral medication flunarizine hydrochloride. The TCM treatment was significantly more effective than the drug treatment for reducing pain frequency, intensity and duration due to migraines.

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• 02/25/2014   Intense acupuncture can improve muscle recovery in patients with Bell palsy, study suggests
  [Science Daily] Patients with Bell palsy who received acupuncture that achieves de qi, a type of intense stimulation, had improved facial muscle recovery, reduced disability and better quality of life, according to a randomized controlled trial.

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• 02/23/2014   Acupuncture Holds Promise for Treating Inflammatory Disease
  [Rutgers Today] Rutgers-led study suggests pathways to alleviating inflammation in disorders such as sepsis, arthritis

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• 02/13/2014   Research examines acupuncture needle quality
  [Science Daily] The quality of needles used in acupuncture worldwide is high but needs to be universally improved to increase safety and avoid potential problems such as pain and allergic reactions, researchers have found.

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• 11/02/2013   Acupuncture Shows Promise to Improve Eyesight for Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients
  [HealthCMi] Treatments with acupuncture and herbal medicine for retinitis pigmentosa, a disorder that is a genetically inherited condition that may lead to blindness, have demonstrated positive clinical outcomes in several studies. A groundbreaking study was published in 2011 wherein it was discovered that acupuncture protects the optic nerve from damage caused by intraocular pressure by alleviating stresses on retinal and optic nerve axonal ultrastructures. Another study showed that Chinese medicine improved retinal cone activity for patients with retinitis pigmentosa, even in cases of advanced retinal degeneration. A more aggressive study was published in Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 2013. She Xiang was injected into acupuncture points UB18 and UB23 and results showed that acupuncture improved eyesight for patients with retinitis pigmentosa. The study concludes that injection of She Xiang into Ganshu (UB18) and Shenshu (UB23) "can improve effectively the function and metabolism of optic cells, promote blood circulation of the retina, enhance the visual acuity, and protect the central vision for the patient of retinitis pigmentosa.”

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• 11/01/2013   Patient Outcomes and Experiences of an Acupuncture and Self-Care Service for Persistent Low Back Pain: A Mixed Methods Approach
• [BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine] Supported self-management, acupuncture, and information can help reduce the symptoms of low back pain. These approaches are currently recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the U.K. as treatment options for patients with persistent low back pain. However, there has been no previous evaluation of a service providing them together for this common problem. The purpose of a service evaluation project by the Beating Back Pain Service (BBPS ) was to report patient outcomes and experiences in a primary and community care setting, delivering acupuncture, self-management, and information to patients with chronic low back pain. The BBPS provided musculoskeletal pain management combining self-management with acupuncture, which was found to be highly effective by patients who completed a questionnaire about their back pain problems after such combined treatment. Further consideration of these methods is required regarding how to best engage patients in self-management.

   

• 11/01/2013   Samueli Institute Study: High Impact Training Programs to Help Service Members Cope with Stress
  [PR Web] In a study involving 116 randomized control trials distilled from a pool of nearly 12,000, the Samueli Institute of Alexandria, VA evaluated the impact of stress-reduction programs within a military environment. The study, published in this month's Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, focused on stills-training that builds resilience, eases emotional stress and resets the body's control system that reacts to stress. Areas of concentration included post traumatic stress response, depression and anxiety.

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• 09/25/2013   Acupuncture with Counseling Improved Depression
  

  [International Business Times] Acupuncture and counseling improved outcomes among patients with moderate to severe depression in the United Kingdom, according to data from a randomized trial.
  Researchers from the University of York in the UK recruited patients with depression from 27 primary care practices in northern England and randomly assigned participants to acupuncture (n=302), counseling (n=302) or usual care (n=151) to determine the efficacy and cost effectiveness of various treatments. The condition is normally treated using antidepressants and counseling. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are some of commonly prescribed antidepressants.
  There were statistically significant reductions in PHQ-9 assessment scores in the acupuncture and counseling groups vs. usual care at three months (–2.46 points for acupuncture, P<.001; –1.73 points for counseling, P=.008). Scores were similar during 12 months: –1.55 points in the acupuncture group and –1.5 in the counseling group. However, there was no significant difference in scores between the acupuncture and counseling groups (P=.41).
  "These findings suggest that, compared to usual care alone, both acupuncture and counseling when provided alongside usual care provided significant benefits at three months in primary care to patients with recurring depression," the researchers wrote.

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• 07/31/2013   Placebo effects of different therapies not identical
  [Science Daily] Not all placebos are equal, and patients who respond to one placebo don't always respond to others, according to new research.

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• 02/08/2013   Time for Acupuncture to Become Part of Standard Care
  [Huffington Post] A recent study conducted by researchers in the Integrative Medicine Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology helps provide cancer patients and their oncologists the information needed to make choices about the use of acupuncture in symptoms management during cancer programs.
  Forty-one studies were found for the treatment of eight symptoms including: 11 on pain, 11 on nausea/vomiting, eight on postoperative ileus (constipation), four on xerostomia (dry mouth), seven on hot flashes, three on fatigue, five on anxiety/depression/mood disorders, and three on sleep disturbance. These studies were rated for study quality and whether outcomes were positive or negative. There is reason to believe that with larger, more rigorous studies, acupuncture may be found beneficial for some of these conditions.

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• 09/11/2012   Needling the Status Quo - Comment on "Acupuncture for Chronic Pain”
  [JAMA Internal Medicine] The relationship between conventional allopathic medical care and the world of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) remains ambiguous. Numerous surveys document continued high levels of interest in, use of, and expenditures for CAM modalities among the US public. Clinical scientists have responded by increasingly subjecting CAM interventions to the same methodologic scrutiny that has fostered conventional medicine's remarkable progress, with the preeminent standard of the double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

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• 09/11/2012   Consumer-Friendly synopsis of "Acupuncture for Chronic Pain"
  [MNT] Acupuncture for the treatment of chronic pain is better than placebo acupuncture (sham acupuncture) or no acupuncture at all, researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, wrote in the JAMA journal Archives of Internal Medicine. This was their conclusion after gathering and analyzing data from 29 randomized controlled human studies.

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• 09/11/2012   Acupuncture for Chronic Pain - Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis
  [JAMA Internal Medicine] Conclusions: Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo. However, these differences are relatively modest, suggesting that factors in addition to the specific effects of needling are important contributors to the therapeutic effects of acupuncture.

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• 09/10/2012   Acupuncture may be better than no acupuncture, sham acupuncture for chronic pain
  [Science Daily] An analysis of patient data from 29 randomized controlled trials suggests that acupuncture may be better than no acupuncture or sham acupuncture for the treatment of some chronic pain, according to a new report.

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• 09/06/2012   Effectiveness guidance document (EGD) for acupuncture research - a consensus document for conducting trials (PDF)
  [BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine] The present EGD, based on an international consensus developed with multiple stakeholder involvement, provides the first systematic methodological guidance for future CER on acupuncture.

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• 02/05/2010   Study maps effects of acupuncture on the brain
  [Science Daily] New research about the effects of acupuncture on the brain may provide an understanding of the complex mechanisms of acupuncture and could lead to a wider acceptability of the treatment.

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• 05/11/2011   Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain
  [NCCAM] In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, acupuncture or simulated acupuncture treatments fared better than usual care in managing low back pain. However, neither tailoring acupuncture needle sites to the individual nor penetrating the skin appeared to be essential for receiving therapeutic benefit. These results are of importance to patients and practitioners seeking a relatively safe and effective treatment for back pain

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• 03/30/2010   Acupuncture calms highly anxious dental patients, study suggests
  [Science Daily] Acupuncture can calm highly anxious dental patients and ensure that they can be given the treatment they need, suggests a small study.

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• 10/02/2008   Calming children before surgery
  [UC Irvine] Surgery is stressful for even the calmest patient, but for children it can be particularly traumatic and frightening. For anesthesiologists, soothing anxious children about to enter surgery is a critical part of the job, and Dr. Zeev Kain, anesthesiology & perioperative care chair at UC Irvine, is turning to ancient Chinese medicine for new methods.

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• 05/31/2008   Acupuncture Reduces Pain and Dysfunction in Head and Neck Cancer Patients after Neck Dissection
  [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center] New data from a randomized, controlled trial found that acupuncture provided significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients after neck dissection.

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• 03/08/2008   Acupuncture Shows Promise in Improving Rates of Pregnancy Following IVF
  [NCCAM] A review of seven clinical trials of acupuncture given with embryo transfer in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) suggests that acupuncture may improve rates of pregnancy. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of couples experience reproductive difficulty and seek specialist fertility treatments, such as IVF. IVF, which involves retrieving a woman's egg, fertilizing it in the laboratory, and then transferring the embryo back into the woman's womb is an expensive, lengthy, and stressful process. Identifying a complementary approach that can improve success would be welcome to patients and providers.

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• 01/09/2008   Overactive touch-sensing nerve cells explain common “ringing in the ears”
  [University of Michigan] Acupuncture and similar methods to calm nerves in head and neck could relieve tinnitus, U-M animal study suggests.

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• 01/06/2007   Acupuncture May Help Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
  [NCCAM] A pilot study shows that acupuncture may help people with posttraumatic stress disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.
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• 06/14/2006   Acupuncture Relieves Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia, Mayo Clinic Study Finds
  [Science Daily] In Mayo's trial, patients who received acupuncture to counter their fibromyalgia symptoms reported improvement in fatigue and anxiety, among other symptoms.

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• 01/10/2006   Treatment of low back pain by acupressure and physical therapy: randomised controlled trial
  [BMJ] Acupressure was effective in reducing low back pain in terms of disability, pain scores, and functional status. The benefit was sustained for six months.

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• 03/31/2005   Effects of acupuncture and stabilising exercises as adjunct to standard treatment in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain
  [BMJ] Acupuncture and stabilising exercises constitute efficient complements to standard treatment for the management of pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy. Acupuncture was superior to stabilising exercises in this study.

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• 02/09/2005   Yale Researcher Studying Acupuncture To Reduce Back Pain In Pregnancy
  [Science Daily] A Yale researcher and expert in the practice of acupuncture is conducting a three-year study on the effectiveness of this ancient Chinese practice in reducing low back pain during pregnancy.

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• 12/20/2004   Acupuncture for Osteoarthritis of the Knee
  [NCCAM] A landmark study has shown that acupuncture provides pain relief and improves function for people with osteoarthritis of the knee and serves as an effective complement to standard care. The study, the largest Phase III clinical trial of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis, was funded by NCCAM and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, both components of the National Institutes of Health.

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• 09/22/2004   Acupuncture Reduces Nausea And Vomiting, Pain After Major Breast Surgery
  [Science Daily] In the first such clinical trial of its kind, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that acupuncture is more effective at reducing nausea and vomiting after major breast surgery than the leading medication.

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• 06/05/2003  Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia
  [CMS] The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned an expedited review of the literature on acupuncture for fibromyalgia from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In order to expedite the review, CMS requested that the review be based on systematic reviews that are published by other groups.

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• Anti-Cancer Herbs in the Asian Pharmacopia
  This is a unique database project of the Institute of East-West Medicine. The goal is to bring together materials from traditional Asian pharmacopoeias which have potential anti-cancer activity and to provide one unified source for such information with a special emphasis on translated results of laboratory, animal or human clinical experiments already published in native Asian journals or texts otherwise not easily accessible. The intent of all this is to encourage research and discovery which may hopefully lead to new cancer treatments.