Moxibustion And Acupuncture For The Treatment Of Crohn's Disease

May 26, 2015
Randomized controlled trial: Moxibustion and acupuncture for the treatment of Crohn's disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4138481/ World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Aug 21;20 (31):11000-11.
By Bao CH

AIM: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion for the treatment of active Crohn's disease (CD).
METHODS: Ninety-two patients were equally and randomly divided into the treatment group and received herb-partitioned moxibustion combined with acupuncture, and the control group received wheat bran-partitioned moxibustion combined with superficial acupuncture. The patients received three treatment sessions per week for 12 wk and were followed up for 24 wk. The main outcome was evaluated using the CD Activity Index (CDAI) score, and the secondary outcomes were evaluated using laboratory indicators such as hemoglobin (HGB), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, quality-of-life, endoscopic ratings, and intestinal histology scores.
RESULTS: The CDAI scores of both the treatment and control groups were significantly reduced after treatment compared with those measured before treatment. However, the degree of improvement in the treatment group was significantly greater than that of the control group. The improvement in symptoms in patients of the treatment group was sustained at follow-up, whereas that of the control group was not. The overall efficacy of the treatment was significantly greater than that of the control. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in quality-of-life ratings after treatment, but the improvement was significantly greater in the treatment group than in the control group. In addition, the patients in the treatment group showed significantly increased HGB and significantly decreased CRP levels and histopathological scores at the end of treatment, whereas the control group did not exhibit significant changes.
CONCLUSION: Moxibustion with acupuncture provided significant therapeutic benefits in patients with active CD beyond the placebo effect and is therefore an effective and safe treatment for active CD.
 

Acupuncture for Barrett's Oesophagus

April 2, 2015
Jeanne, a 71-year-old housewife, started having reflux, swallowing difficulty and cough two years ago. As nothing could control the symptoms, she was sent for an endoscopy examination six months ago then was diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus. This condition refers to an abnormal change in the cells of the lower portion of the oesophagus. It is characterized by the replacement of the normal stratified squamous epithelium lining of the oesophagus by simple columnar epithelium with goblet cell...

Continue reading...
 

Acupuncture for Hemorrhoid

February 27, 2015
Sarah has had hemorrhoid for 10 years. Her symptoms were not too bad until her pregnancy 17 months ago. Since then she has been suffering from non-stop bleeding, pain and itchiness, especially at night. She has been to see the doctor and tried different ointments but couldn't get relief. She also had 6 sessions of acupuncture treatment from someone and that didn't help either. One day she came to ask me if Chinese herbal medicine could help. I explained to her that although Chinese herbs coul...
Continue reading...
 

York study maps the effects of acupuncture on the brain

January 5, 2015
The study, by researchers at the University of York and the Hull York Medical School published in Brain Research, indicates that acupuncture has a significant effect on specific neural structures.
http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2010/research/acupuncture/

Continue reading...
 

Science Behind Medical Acupuncture

November 6, 2014


A special issue of Medical Acupuncture presents a series of articles by authors from around the world who provide diverse and insightful perspectives on the science and physiologic responses underlying medical acupuncture.

http://www.liebertpub.com/global/pressrelease/how-does-acupuncture-work-the-science-behind-the-therapy-is-explored-in-a-special-issue-of-emmedical-acupuncture-em/1238/

Continue reading...
 

Acupuncture Helps Pediatric Patients Manage Pain and Nausea

September 25, 2014

Controlled studies of acupuncture in pediatric patients have shown its usefulness in managing nausea after surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids and following eye surgery to correct strabismus. It has also been shown to help reduce chronic headache pain in children. Just how acupuncture works is not well understood, but it may stimulate the release of neurotransmitters such as endorphins and serotonin or otherwise inhibit pain transmission.

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/04/113966/acupunctur...
Continue reading...