NEWS ARTICLES
Acupuncture
Helps Chronic Headache Sufferers
Reuters -
Acupuncture is a useful, cost-effective treatment for
patients who suffer from chronic headaches or migraine, American researchers
said on Monday.
In one of the largest randomized studies to assess the
effectiveness of the ancient Chinese treatment, scientists found it worked
better than just conventional treatments alone.
"People using acupuncture had fewer headaches, less
severe headaches and they used less health resources over the course of the
following year," Dr Andrew Vickers, of
The scientists compared acupuncture plus standard treatment
to normal therapy alone in 401 patients in
Patients who had been assigned acupuncture plus standard
treatment received up to 12 treatments over three months.
Initially there was not much difference between the two
groups but at the end of the year-long trial the scientist noticed a big
change.
Patients receiving acupuncture had 22 fewer days of
headaches per year, used 15 percent less medication, made 25 percent fewer
visits to their family doctors and took fewer days off sick than the other
group.
There were not many side effects and Vickers and his
colleagues also found that the treatment was cost effective.
Acupuncture was first used in
German researchers have also said it could help women
undergoing fertility treatment to conceive.
Acupuncture's
secret: Blood flow to brain USA Today - March 2004
Acupuncture on pain-relief points cuts blood flow to key
areas of the brain within seconds, providing the clearest explanation to date
for how the ancient technique might relieve pain and treat addictions, a
Harvard scientist reports today.
Although researchers still don't fully understand how
acupuncture works, "our findings may connect the dots, showing how a
common pathway in the brain could make acupuncture helpful for a variety of
conditions," says radiologist Bruce Rosen of
Rosen's team used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or
MRIs, on about 20 healthy volunteers before, during
and after acupuncture. This type of brain scan shows changes in blood flow and
the amount of oxygen in blood.
Researchers applied acupuncture needles to points on the
hand linked to pain relief in traditional Chinese medicine. Blood flow
decreased in certain areas of the brain within seconds of volunteers reporting a heaviness in their hands, a sign the acupuncture is
working correctly, Rosen says. The needle technique is not supposed to hurt if
done correctly. When a few subjects reported pain, their scans showed an
increase of blood to the same brain areas.
"When there's less blood, the brain isn't working as
hard, " Rosen says. "In effect, acupuncture
is quieting down key regions of the brain."
The specific brain areas affected are involved in mood,
pain and cravings, Rosen says. This could help explain why some studies have
found acupuncture helpful in treating depression, eating problems, addictions
and pain.
The brain regions involved also are loaded with dopamine, a
"reward" chemical that surges in reaction to everything from cocaine
to food, beautiful faces and money. The reduced blood flow could lead to
dopamine changes that trigger a "cascade" effect, releasing
endorphins, the brain's natural pain-relieving and comforting chemicals, Rosen
says.
Rosen's study "is a very exciting first step,"
says neurobiologist Richard Hammerschlag of the
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in
The placebo effect is so powerful it could affect blood
flow, says UCLA neurobiologist Christopher Evans, a pain expert. There's even
some evidence that placebos can increase brain chemicals, such as endorphins, Hammerschlag says.
Kids'
acupuncture gaining interest November 2002 - MSNBC
Animal
Acupuncture November 2002 - National Geographic
Acupuncture helps heart patients
Acupuncture can improve the prospects of people with severe
heart failure, research has shown.
Researchers found the ancient Chinese practice has the
potential to dramatically reduce the pressure on the heart.
This is because it can reduce activity in the sympathetic
nervous system, which regulates involuntary movements such as heartbeat and
blood pressure.
Acupuncture has been used successfully and with long-range
results in improving hypertension, and it may also be beneficial in lowering
sympathetic nerve activity.
It also makes it more likely that the heart will develop
potentially lethal rhythm patterns.
The lead researcher is Dr Holly Middlekauff,
of the University of California Los Angeles School of
Medicine.
Increasing interest
She said: "There is an ever-increasing interest in
alternative medicine. But until now, no one had looked at acupuncture's effect
on the very sickest heart failure patients.
"Our research represents a promising first step, but
more study is definitely needed."
Dr Middlekauff said advanced
heart failure patients often had two or three times more sympathetic nerve activity
than normal.
It has been shown that the greater this activity is, the
worse the outlook for the patient.
The researchers divided 14 critically ill chronic heart
failure patients referred for heart transplantation evaluation into three
groups.
One group received acupuncture at traditional acupuncture
sites.
The second received "non-acupoint"
acupuncture in which needles were placed at sites not traditionally believed to
be useful in acupuncture.
Finally, the third group had a "no-needle" simulation
of the treatment, in which a needle holder is tapped to the back of their neck,
but no needle was inserted.
Activation
Blood pressure, heart rate and sympathetic nerve activity
were measured in all the patients following a four-minute mental stress test.
This involved, among other things, participants performing
math problems in their heads and answering aloud.
Sympathetic nerve activation was significantly reduced in
the acupuncture group.
Dr Middlekauff said further study
is needed before acupuncture could be recommended as a routine treatment for
patients with severe heart failure.
Scientists pinpoint what makes acupuncture work
June 2000
Scientists in
In studies on cats, Dr. John Longhurst
of the
Endorphins are considered the body's natural opiate system,
because morphine, heroin and other opiate drugs affect the same nerve cells.
The chemicals in the system regulate nerve cells that relax muscles, dull pain,
and reduce panic and anxiety. It also has been shown to lower blood pressure and
reduce the workload on the heart.
"Endorphins have been known to help the body prevent
heart disease, but we've never seen how they can be affected by
acupuncture," Longhurst said, even though the
technique has been used by Chinese practitioners for thousands of years.
"These findings help us merge what Western medicine has taught us with the
tradition of Chinese techniques."
Acupuncture treatments have lowered blood pressure in some
patients and in certain instances have effectively treated a disorder called
cardiac ischemia, which is caused by an inadequate blood supply to heart muscle
cells.
To follow the nervous system routes affected by
acupuncture, the researchers first used a chemical called bradykinin
to stimulate nerves that increase blood pressure in cats. The substance is
produced when the body reacts to infections by producing inflammation, and
generally its blood pressure effects are curbed by the endorphin system.
Insertion of acupuncture needles at key
pressure points have been found to
reduce the ability of bradykinin to raise blood
pressure.
Then, the scientists injected a drug called naloxone into the cats' bloodstream, negating the effects
of the acupuncture probes. Blood pressure and heart pumping action then
increased.
Since naloxone blocks the effects
of the endorphin system on the areas of the brain that regulate blood pressure,
the researchers concluded that acupuncture worked by stimulating the cats'
natural endorphins.
The study is part of a number of collaborations between
Chinese and Western doctors to understand the physical mechanisms of techniques
that have been used for some 3,000 years.
An expert panel convened by the National Institutes of
Health concluded in late 1997 that most Western research on acupuncture is too
scant to merit recommending its use in treating many medical problems. But it
did report there's substantial evidence that acupuncture can help relieve
nausea after surgery and chemotherapy and during pregnancy and also may help
alleviate pain and aid stroke rehabilitation.
Longhurst said his team will now try to determine which nerve cells
in the endorphin system are being stimulated by acupuncture and whether any
other parts of the nervous system may contribute to acupuncture's effects on
the cardiovascular system.