Prace naukowe
The role of acupuncture in the
treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study.
Chan J, Carr I, Mayberry JF.
Gastrointestinal Research Unit, Leicester General Hospital, England.
Hepatogastroenterology 1997 Sep-Oct;44(17):1328-30
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the potential
value of acupuncture in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
METHODOLOGY: The study was an open design study of 7 patients with established
irritable bowel syndrome in which assessment was by a diary card. RESULTS: The
results showed a significant improvement both in general well-being and in
symptoms of bloating. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture seems to be effective in the
treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and merits further study.
The use of acupuncture in the
treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Kho HG, Sweep CG, Chen X, Rabsztyn PR, Meuleman EJ.
Institute of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Int J Impot Res 1999 Feb;11(1):41-6
The efficacy of acupuncture as a mono-therapy was evaluated in a pilot study of
16 patients suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED). In nine patients no
organic co-morbidity was encountered. In a period of four weeks, acupuncture
treatment was performed twice a week for a total of eight sessions. Each
treatment session consisted of puncture of the same eight acupoints, four of
which were connected to a Swiss made constant current Doltron ESA 600
stimulator. Low frequency electrical stimulation (5 Hz and 10 mA) was applied to
these four acupoints, whereas no stimulation was applied to the other four
points. After 30min, the electrical stimulation was terminated and all needles
removed. Blood samples were drawn according to a fixed time schedule, to study
the profile of a number of stress hormones, for example, adrenocorticotropic
hormone, antidiuretic hormone and cortisol, the gonadotrophines follicle
stimulating hormone and leutinizing hormone, and the sex steroid testosterone
and its binding globulin, within the treatment period. Based on a diary of both
patient and partner, and an interview one month after the end of treatment, the
changes of sexual activity were evaluated over a period of 12 weeks, starting
from the four weeks prior to the treatment, the four weeks during the treatment
period and the four weeks after the treatment. An improvement of the quality of
erection was experienced by 15% of patients, while 31% reported an increase in
their sexual activity. No changes in the profiles of hormones were detected. The
use of acupuncture as a mono-therapeutic modality in ED, did not influence the
profile of the stress and sex hormones, but did improve the quality of erection
and restored the sexual activity with an overall effect of 39%. No definite
conclusions can be drawn from this pilot study. A controlled and blinded study
including more patients will be needed before any definitive conclusion can be
reached.
Heroindetoxification with acupuncture and electrical stimulation.
Severson L. Markoff RA. Chun-Hoon A.
International Journal of the Addictions. 12(7):911-22,
1977 Oct.
Acupuncture with electrical stimulation is a feasible nonchemical method for
detoxification of heroin addicts, with particular limitations as regards to
heavy users. Short-term follow-up seems to indicate reversion to heroin is
comparable to other detoxification methods. It could be of great interest to
study the effect of easily available postdetoxification maintenance acupuncture
as an alternative to heroin. Withdrawal symptoms are relieved in a hierarchial
manner with apparent parasympathetically mediated symptoms subsiding first, and
frequently with incomplete resolution of bone and joint pain.
Acupuncture in two cases of peripheral nerve paralysis.
Mayer FJ.
American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 5(1):95-100, 1977 Spring.
This is a report on a case of peripheral paralysis of
the right side of the larynx. The patient was a 34 year-old male who became
completely aphonic following a grippal infection. After 3 weeks of conventional
treatment by a well-known specialist, he underwent acupuncture treatment. After
4 months the voice was again normal; however, the laryngoscopy showed a
completely normal larynx only 7 months after the illness. The loci used and the
reasons for their selection are discussed in detail. The second case was a 62
year-old male with facial paralysis. This patient underwent acupuncture
treatment shortly after he was stricken. After 6 days distinct improvement was
seen; he was completely healed after 2 months. The loci and the reasons for
their selection are discussed. The cases are compared.
A review of research on acupuncture for the treatment of lumbar
disk protrusions and associated neurological
symptomatology.
Longworth W. McCarthy PW.
East Finchley Clinic, London, England.
Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. 3(1):55-76, 1997 Spring.
The association between acupuncture (AP) and pain relief is so
strong that it has tended to obscure any other potentially significant
clinical results. This review indicates the wealth of data from around the
world on various aspects of AP treatment for low back syndromes related to
lumbar intervertebral disk prolapse (PID). Although plentiful, the research
is variable in quality, especially with respect to design, consistency, and
follow-up. Even so, the large number of patients who appear to have
been treated successfully (i.e., given a high degree of symptomatic relief)
supports a potential role for AP. This is further supported by studies on
patients who had previously had unsuccessful treatment with conservative
methods. The role envisaged for AP, in cases of lumbar PID and sciatica, is
at least of a supplementary therapy capable of reducing the
requirement of more invasive forms of treatment. No such role is envisaged
in cases of cauda equina compression where surgery must remain the treatment
of choice. AP should be explored more fully, using appropriate designs, so
that this discipline may achieve its full therapeutic potential in the West.
An analysis of therapeutic effect of drug acupoint application in 209 cases of allergic asthma.
Lai X. Li Y. Fan Z. Zhang J. Liu B.
Institution Guanzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Guangdong
Province 510407
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 21(2):122-6, 2001 Jun.
Both therapies of traditional crude herb moxibustion and drug acupoint
application were used in 209 cases of allergic asthma to compare their
long-term and short-term therapeutic effects and to analyze the relationship
between clinic therapeutic effects of both therapies and differential types
of the disease. The results showed that the short-term total effective rate
in the group of drug acupoint application was higher than that in the group
of traditional crude herb moxibustion, the therapeutic effects of drug
acupoint application being closely related to differential types. Analysis
also shows the best short-term therapeutic effect was in the type of heat in
the lung while the poorest effect in the type of deficiency of the
kidney-yang.
Clinical study on treatment of senile vascular dementia by
acupuncture
Gao H. Yan L. Liu B. Wang Y. Wei X. Sun L. Cui H.
Hospital Affiliated to Weifang Medical College, Weifang 261031, Shandong Province.
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 21(2):103-9, 2001 Jun.
63 patients with senile vascular dementia were randomly divided into the
treatment group (treated by acupuncture) and the control group
(treated with piracetam). The authors observed the changes in the score of
Hasegawa's dementia scale (HDS), p300, rheoencephalogram, topographic EEG,
superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in erythrocytes, and lipid peroxide
(LPO) level in plasma before and after treatment. The statistical data
showed that the total effective rate in the treatment group (80.6%) was
significantly higher than that in the control group (25%), and the
differences in the observed indexes before and after treatment were
significant (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) in the treatment group but not in
the control group (P > 0.05), indicating that the acupuncture
treatment was superior in immediate therapeutic effect on senile vascular
dementia to drug treatment.
A comparison of acupuncture with advice and exercises on the
symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip – a randomised controlled trial.
Fink MG. Wipperman B. Gehrke A.
Princess Margaret Hospital Swindon. haslamroisin@hotmail.com
Acupuncture in Medicine. 19(1):19-26, 2001 Jun.
Acupuncture is becoming a common technique within the physio therapy
profession as a treatment modality for pain relief; however, few randomised
controlled trials have been undertaken to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture,
particularly in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Therefore,
a randomised trial to compare the effectiveness of acupuncture with
advice and exercises on the symptomatic treatment of OA of the hip was
carried out. Thirty-two patients awaiting a total hip arthroplasty were
randomly allocated to either the experimental group, (A), to have six
sessions of acupuncture each lasting up to 25 minutes, or the control
group, (B), to be given advice and exercises for their hip over a six week
period. Group A consisted of three men and 13 women, and group B consisted
of four men and eight women. The average age in group A was 66 years
and in group B it was 68 years. Patients were assessed for pain and
functional ability, using a modified version of the WOMAC questionnaire,
pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment and at eight weeks post-treatment.
The pre-treatment WOMAC scores in the two groups were similar (p=0.85).
There was a significant improvement in group A (decrease in WOMAC score)
immediately post-treatment (p=0.002) and this was maintained at the
eight-week follow-up (p=0.03). There were no significant changes in group B.
When the changes in WOMAC scores were compared between groups, a
significantly greater improvement was found between pre-treatment and
immediately post-treatment in group A, compared with group B (p=0.02). The
changes between pre-treatment and the eight-week follow-up also showed a
significant improvement in group A compared with group B (p=0.03). In
conclusion, this trial supports the hypothesis that acupuncture is
more effective than advice and exercises in the symptomatic treatment of OA
of the hip.
Acupuncture therapy in the management of persistent primary nocturnal
enuresis – preliminary results.
Serel TA. Perk H. Koyuncuoglu HR. Kosar A. Celik K. Deniz N.
Department of Urology, Suleyman Demirel University, School of Medicine,
Isparta, Turkey. aserel@sdu.edu.tr
Scandinavian Journal of Urology & Nephrology. 35(1):40-3, 2001 Feb.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the comparative therapeutic
efficacy of traditional Chinese acupuncture MATERIAL AND METHODS:
During the period from January 1997 to April 1999, 50 children (23 boys, 17
girls) suffering from primary persistent nocturnal enuresis, aged 9-18 years,
were included in the study. The response rate was monitored at 2 and 4
weeks, and then every 3 months by recording dry nights on a calendar.
RESULTS: The efficacy of treatment, which was expressed as a percentage
of dry nights, was high. Within 6 months, 43 (86%) patients were completely
dry and 2 (10%) patients were dry on at least 80% of nights. CONCLUSIONS:
Treatment using acupuncture in patients with persistent enuresis
nocturna appeared to be most efficacious both in terms of the
percentage of dry nights at the end of treatment and in relation to the
stability of results, even after the end of the study.
Effectiveness of acupuncture for treatment of
childhood constipation.
Broide E. Pintov S. Portnoy S. Barg J. Klinowski E. Scapa E.
Institute of Gastroenterology, Liver Disease and Nutrition, Assaf
Harofeh
Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel.
Digestive Diseases & Sciences. 46(6):1270-5, 2001 Jun.
The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of
acupunctureon chronic constipation in children and to investigate their
basal plasma panopioid level and the changes of this treatment. Seventeen
children constipated for at least six months were treated by five weekly placebo
acupuncture sessions, followed by 10 weekly true acupuncture
sessions. Their parents filled a bowel habit questionnaire. Panopioid activity
was measured at time 0 and after 5, 10, and 15 acupuncture sessions. The
frequency of bowel movements in males increased more gradually compared to
females and reached a maximal improvement only after 10 true acupuncture
sessions, from 1.4 +/- 0.6/week to 4.4 +/- 0.6/week and females from 1.4 +/-
0.3/week up to 5.6 +/- 1.2/week. The basal panopioid activity was lower in
constipated children as compared to the control population and increased
gradually up to control level after 10 true acupuncture sessions. This
study is the first to describe a successful treatment by acupuncture of
constipated children.
Practical recommendations for the use of acupuncture in the
treatment of temporomandibular disorders based on the outcome of published controlled studies.
Rosted P.
Sheffield University, Sheffield, UK. Prosted@aol.com
Oral Diseases. 7(2):109-15, 2001 Mar.
OBJECTIVE: The objective is to analyse the treatment procedures used
in the individual studies to identify any similarities of therapeutic approaches
and subsequently present recommendations for a standard acupuncture
procedure for the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). MATERIALS:
Literature searches performed by the Royal Society of Medicine and the
University Library, Copenhagen were able to identify 74 publications regarding
the use of acupuncture in dentistry. Among them 14 papers concerned the
use of acupuncture in the treatment of TMD. To ensure reasonable
methodological soundness of the involved studies, only randomised and blinded
studies were included, which reduced the number of papers to six. Among these
six papers three concerns the same study and were counted as one. One paper was
a follow-up of a previous study and for this purpose counted as one. METHODS:
All publications were analysed for the following information: acupuncture points used, type of stimulation, number of treatments, duration of the
individual treatment and the interval between the individual treatments. MAIN
OUTCOME: Acupuncture has in three out of three randomised controlled
trials (RCT) proved effective for the treatment of TMD. The following local acupuncture
points are recommended for the treatment of TMD: ST-6, ST-7, SI-18,
GV-20, GB-20, BL-10. As a distant point LI-4 is recommended. After inserting the
needles they should be manipulated manually to achieve the De-qui sensation and
left in situ for 30 min. Treatment should be given weekly and a total number of
six treatments is recommended.
Influence of acupuncture and moxibustion on QOL of the elderly
living in nursing home and care house].
Matsumoto T. Terasawa S.
Department of Geriatric Acupuncture and Moxibustion,
Meiji University of Oriental Medicine.
Source Nippon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi - Japanese Journal of Geriatrics.
38(2):205-11, 2001 Mar.
To clarify the influence of acupuncture therapy on the quality
of life (QOL) of the elderly, the acupuncture and moxibustion were
performed on 35 elderly subjects (8 men and 27 women) with a mean age 79.1
living in nursing homes and elderly care houses. The acu-points were
chosen according to their symptoms. Changes in pain and other complaints, body
condition, appetite, sleep, bowel movement and activity of daily living (ADL)
were evaluated by questionnaires. A total of 38 symptoms were reported. A high
rate of improvement was seen in pain and stiffness. For example, there was 86%
improvement in low back pain, 84% in knee joint pain and 82% in shoulder
stiffness. Concerning body conditions, decrease of fatigue, relaxed of feeling,
improvement in appetite, sleep and bowel movement were observed. Furthermore,
gait and ADL were also improved. These results suggested that acupuncture
and moxibustion are useful to improve QOL in the elderly.
38(2):205-11, 2001 Mar.
Tolosa Hunt Syndrome – intractable pain treatment
with acupuncture
Nepp J. Grdser S. Flarrer S. Spacek A. Mudrich C. Stockenhuber D. Wedrich A.
Dept of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna,
Austria. johannes.nepp@akh-wien.ac.at
Acupuncture & Electro-TherapeuticsResearch.
25(3-4):155-63, 2000.
PURPOSE:The Tolosa Hunt Syndrome (THS) is a painful granular
inflammation of the cerebral vessels followed by pain and disorders of the
extrabulbar muscles. The therapy consists of corticosteroids and
analgetics. There was a 70 year old woman who suffered from painful
paresis of the abducent and oculomotor nerves following an infection with
Borrelia Burgdorferi - but without ocular symptoms. The treatment with
corticosteroids reduced the palsy but she complained of excessively painful
attacks in the region of the first branch of the trigeminal nerve. Opiold
analgetic therapy did not bring about any relief. Acupuncture is
an irritative method with a physical effect on the nervous system: its
pain-reducing effect is caused by the activation of transmitters like endorphins
in thalamus and brain stem. Knowing this effect, the THS patient, after informed
consent, was treated with acupuncture. To measure the extent of pain, a
visual analog scale (0: no pain - 10: maximum pain) was used. Acupuncture
was performed according to the empirical rules of the Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM), during a period of 10 weeks and 12 weeks. There was a
significant pain relief after acupuncture from VAS 10 to VAS 5. The
effect vanished during the next four months. After a second series of 12
sessions pain reduction was reported from VAS 10 to 4. One year after the
last Tolosa Hunt Syndrome - intractable pain pain strength ranged between VAS 4
- 6. Therefore acupuncture seems to be a good additional method for
reduction of intractable pain.
Acupuncture treatment of Parkinson's disease – a report of
29cases.
Zhuang X. Wang L.
Second Clinical College, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese
Medicine and Pharmacy, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province.
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 20(4):265-7, 2000 Dec.
It can be concluded that acupuncture possesses definite therapeutic
effectiveness for Parkinson's disease, which is mainly represented by
improvement in the clinical symptoms and signs, delaying of the disease's
progression, decrease in the dosage of anti-parkinsonian drug, and expectant
treatment of the complications and symptoms induced by the drug side-effects.