Acupuncture in Patients with Allergic Asthma: A Randomized Pragmatic Trial

February 7, 2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28287818 J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Mar 13. doi: 10.1089/acm.2016.0357. 
By Brinkhaus B, Roll S, Jena S, Icke K, Adam D, Binting S, Lotz F, et al., 

Abstract
 
BACKGROUND: 
Although the available evidence is insufficient, acupuncture is used in patients suffering from chronic asthma. The aim of this pragmatic study was to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care in patients with allergic asthma compared to treatment with routine care alone. 

METHODS: 
Patients with allergic asthma were included in a randomized controlled trial and randomized to receive up to 15 acupuncture sessions over 3 months or to a control group receiving routine care alone. Patients who did not consent to randomization received acupuncture treatment for the first 3 months and were followed as a cohort. All trial patients were allowed to receive routine care in addition to study treatment. The primary endpoint was the asthma quality of life questionnaire (AQLQ, range: 1-7) at 3 months. Secondary endpoints included general health related to quality of life (Short-Form-36, SF-36, range 0-100). Outcome parameters were assessed at baseline and at 3 and 6 months. 

RESULTS: 
A total of 1,445 patients (mean age 43.8 [SD 13.5] years, 58.7% female) were randomized and included in the analysis (184 patients randomized to acupuncture and 173 to control, and 1,088 in the nonrandomized acupuncture group). In the randomized part, acupuncture was associated with an improvement in the AQLQ score compared to the control group (difference acupuncture vs. control group 0.7 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5-1.0]) as well as in the physical component scale and the mental component scale of the SF-36 (physical: 2.5 [1.0-4.0]; mental 4.0 [2.1-6.0]) after 3 months. Treatment success was maintained throughout 6 months. Patients not consenting to randomization showed similar improvements as the randomized acupuncture group. 

CONCLUSIONS: 
In patients with allergic asthma, additional acupuncture treatment to routine care was associated with increased disease-specific and health-related quality of life compared to treatment with routine care alone.
 

Acupuncture in cancer study reignites debate about controversial technique

December 15, 2017
Large study suggests acupuncture could help women stick with unpleasant cancer treatments.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-08309-y

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Acupuncture For Endometriosis - Case 2

October 23, 2017
36-year-old Paula had been suffering from severe period pain for three years. It all started after a miscarriage which happened when she was 9 weeks pregnant. Her menstrual cycles were fairly regular, but the blood was dark and clotty. An excruciating pain in her lower abdomen and back would start a week before and last until a week after the period. Her ribs could ache as well. The pain made her feel sick and lethargic. She had not been able to conceive again since the miscarriage, although ...

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Acupuncture For Bedwetting

September 22, 2017

Recently, a patient who sees me regularly told me that her seven-year-old daughter Annie had developed bedwetting for a while. She was wet every night and got quite embarrassed. The mum wondered if it was to do with stress, as Annie had started getting homework from school and she is the kind of child who wants to do her best. I told her that it's hard to pinpoint what causes this quite common condition, but according to my experience, acupuncture can be very effective in treating it. A few h...


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Acupuncture for Parkinson's Disease: a review of clinical, animal, and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies.

August 21, 2017
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26742319 
J Tradit Chin Med. 2015 Dec;35(6):709-17 
By Xiao D. 

Abstract

Acupuncture has been commonly used as an adjuvant therapy or monotherapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease in China and in other countries. Animal studies have consistently show that this treatment is both neuroprotective, protecting dopaminergic neurons from degeneration and also restorative, restoring tyrosine hydroxylase positive dopaminergic terminals in striatum, resulting in imp...

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Complete response to acupuncture therapy in female patients with refractory interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.

June 7, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28326514
Ginekol Pol. 2017;88(2):61-67. doi: 10.5603/GP.a2017.0013. 
By Sönmez MG1, Kozanhan B. 

Abstract 
OBJECTIVES: 
Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a considerable issue in urology and gynecology and unfortunately, the treatment options recommended are not fully efficient. Therefore, in this study we aimed to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in patients with refractory IC/BPS. 

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 12 refractory I...

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