Acupuncture helps reduce blood uric acid levels in patients with hyperuricemia

Hyperuricemia is an excess of uric acid in the blood, which is one of potential risk factors for many conditions e.g. gout and kidney stones. Acupuncture treatment is reported to significantly lower blood levels of uric acid according to a report being published in the journal of Annals of Palliative Medicine.

Uric acid is a chemical created when the body breaks down substance called purines which are found in many food and drinks, including mackerel, liver, beer and peas and many more. Normally uric acid is metabolised in the liver, enters into the blood stream and excreted in the urine. Excess levels of purines and problems with kidney excretion of uric acid cause hyperuricemia. Drug treatment is commonly used to treat hyperuricemia, but accompanied with some unwanted effects.

Recently Dr. BG Sun and colleagues in China carried out a clinical study to assess the effect of acupuncture on hyperuricemia. Thirty-two patients with primary hyperuricemia were recruited for the study. The Five Shu acupoints in the spleen meridian were applied for 30 min, once a day for ten consecutive days. The 24-hour urine volume and blood samples were collected for analysis of urine uric acid and urinary creatinine, and blood uric acid level and creatinine concentration respectively before acupuncture, during acupuncture treatment and 24-hour after acupuncture.

It was found that acupuncture treatment significantly reduced blood uric acid levels in patients with over-production of uric acid, with under-excretion of uric acid and with mixed type as well. Further the fraction of excretion of uric acid was markedly decreased. Overall, serum concentration of uric acid decreased by ca. 18% and 24-hour urine volume was increased by 27%.

The authors suggest that acupuncture stimulation at the Five Shu acupoints in the spleen meridian has significantly lowered blood uric acid level by promoting uric acid excretion and increase urine volume.

Reference:

Sun BG et al., Acupuncture of the Five Shu Acupoints in spleen meridian to lower blood uric acid level. Ann Palliat Med. 2014 Jan;3(1):22-7.   http://www.amepc.org/apm/article/view/3253

Acupuncture alleviates pain caused by the first bite syndrome

Acupuncture significantly reduced a facial pain called “first bite syndrome” which is not satisfactorily treated by conventional approaches, according to a report published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology.

First bite syndrome refers to facial pain characterized by a severe cramping or spasm in the parotid region triggered at the beginning of a meal by chewing, swallowing or even simple contact with generally acidic food. It is potential sequelae of surgery of the upper cervical region involving the infratemporal fossa, parapharyngeal space, and/or deep lobe of the parotid gland. The incidence, risk factors, treatment options and outcomes of first bite syndrome are poorly understood. Pharmacologic and surgical treatments are used to treatment the condition but none of them prove to be effective in the long-term.

Recently Dr. FR Fiorini and colleagues in Italy used acupuncture to treat two patients (a male and a female) with first bite syndrome after upper neck surgery for a plomorphus adenoma of the parotid gland and a cervical sympathetic chain neurinoma. Electroacupuncture was applied on relevant acupoints and lasted for 30 min a session, once a week for 6 weeks. A self-coded questionnaire comprising of qualitative and quantitative description of pain was performed. The scores range from 8 to 44, corresponding to the lowest and the highest discomfort possible. At the end of acupuncture, the scores dropped from 33 to 25 in the female patient, and from 30 to 15 in the male patient.

The authors found that acupuncture was very effective in treating the condition and suggest that acupuncture may represent a therapeutic alternative in future treatment. 

Reference:

Fiorini FR et al., Potential use of acupuncture in the treatment of first bite syndrome. Am J Otolaryngol. 2015 Jan 30. pii: S0196-0709(15)00043-5.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25783766

Acupuncture improves pain and function of patients with frozen shoulder

Acupuncture with or without bee venom injection at acupoints around affected shoulder markedly improved pain and stiffness of patients with frozen should. The therapeutic effect of acupuncture maintained up to one year after treatment. The studies were published in the J Shoulder Elbow Surg and J Altern Complement Med separately.

Frozen shoulder also known as adhesive capsulitis of shoulder is one of the most common causes of intrinsic shoulder pain. Pain, stiffness and loss of motion with insidious onset are usually the major symptoms. Frozen shoulder occurs when the flexible tissues surrounds the shoulder joint, known as capsule, became inflamed, formed adhesion and thickened. It is estimated that around 3% of people may be affected at some points of their life. Most commonly it affects of people of ages between 45 and 65. It is more common in women. The common approaches include painkillers, local injection of corticosteroid and surgery depending on the severity and length of condition. In china acupuncture has been used to treat frozen shoulder for a very long time.

Recently researchers in Korea carried out a randomized controlled study to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture plus physiotherapy on frozen shoulder, and followed by another a one-year follow-up study. The patients were given treatments that stimulated acupoints surrounding the shoulder, with or without bee venom twice a week for 8 weeks. The following assessments: shoulder pain disability index, pain visual analogue scale and active/passive range of motion were monitored prior to and after the treatment. All patients showed a significantly reduced pain, improved daily activities at the end of treatment.

One year later, researchers did a follow-up studies. They used telephone interview to ask the same patients the same questions as at the end of the treatment. It was found that acupuncture treatment had a very sustainable therapeutic effect one year after treatment.

Reference:

Koh PS et al., Clinical effectiveness of bee venom acupuncture and physiotherapy in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis: a randomized controlled trial. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2013 Aug;22(8):1053-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2012.10.045.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23352187

Park YC et al., Long-Term Effectiveness of Bee Venom Acupuncture and Physiotherapy in the Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis (肩关节冻结症; 冻结肩): A One-Year Follow-Up Analysis of a Previous Randomized Controlled Trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2014 Nov 7. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25380241 

Acupuncture helps reducing abdominal fat mass in men with obesity

Acupuncture both body electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture significantly reduced abdominal fat mass of obese men as reported in the journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders recently.

Abdominal obesity or beer belly also known clinically as central obesity is excessive abdominal fat around the stomach and abdomen. Abdominal obesity has a very negative impact on the health and is associated with risk of various conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and sexual dysfunction. Conventional treatments include pharmacotherapy, surgery, dietary restriction, physical exercise. Acupuncture has gained increasing attention from public for obese treatment.

Recently researchers in Iran performed a clinical study to compare the therapeutic effect of both body electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture on the abdominal obesity. Eighty obese men with a BMI between 30-40 kg/m² were recruited for the study. They were divided into four groups (n=20 each group), body acupuncture, auricular acupuncture and their corresponding sham control groups. Both body and auricular acupuncture were performed twice a week for a total of 6 weeks. Body mass index, Trunk fat mass, Waist circumference and hip circumference were all measured before the treatment and one day after the last treatment.

Both body acupuncture and auricular acupuncture had markedly reduced all parameters mentioned above compared with the sham control groups. Interestingly, body acupuncture is more effective in reducing waist circumference and auricular acupuncture is more effective in hip circumference reduction.

Authors suggest that body acupuncture and auricular acupuncture are efficient, simple and good alternative treatment for obesity, with little adverse effect.

Reference:

Darbandi M, Auricular or body acupuncture: which one is more effective in reducing abdominal fat mass in Iranian men with obesity: a randomized clinical trial. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2014; 13: 92.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4261582/

Recent development in research of acupoint anatomy

Meridian and acupuncture points (acupoint) are the most fundamental part of acupuncture therapy in traditional Chinese medicine. However the existence of anatomical structures of both meridian and acupoint are still in controversy although some reports showed their putative presence.

During past a few years progress has been made in research on meridian and acupoint anatomy. In 2014, Dr. C Wang and colleagues in China identified a “vessel-like structure” made of “calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP)-positive neurofibers in local tissues” at acupoints ST 44, ST 36 and ST 32. The researchers used laser confocal microscope and located CGRP-positive nerve fibres at the acupoints. The non-acupoint did not show such a profile. CGRP plays an important role as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulators in the central nervous system, and as a potent vasodilator when secreted from peripheral, perivascular nerves through its specific receptors.

In another research performed by Dr. Chenglin Liu and colleagues in China (2014) CT scans allowing an improved 3D imaging of a large field of view without artfact, revealed unique structure of acupoints. They found that acupoints have a higher density of micro-vessels and contain a large amount of involuted microvascular structures at acupoint ST36 and ST37. The non-acupoints did not exhibit these properties.

Using the silver stained sections of acupoint P6 and GB20, Silberstein et al., (2012) in Australia described that at each acupoint, but not at control sites, “a single nerve bundle extending to the dermal–epidermal junction was identified where it branched into two parts, with each branch running perpendicularly, parallel to the dermal–epidermal junction”. They conclude that acupoints are related to both unmyelinated and myelinated afferent nerve fibers in a unique neuroanatomical structure not found in other areas of the body.

In another study, M Hong et al., (2012) in Korea used an amperometric oxygen micro-sensor to detect partial oxygen pressure variations at different locations on the anterior aspect of the wrist. They found that relatively high values of partial oxygen pressure at the certain area close to proximity of acupoints with statistic significance, indicating a strong relationship between oxygen and acupoints.

These findings mark an important development in the understanding of acupoint anatomy. These techniques for scientifically measuring acupoint offer new insight into the structures surrounding acupoint. This may help to confirm how stimulation of acupoint affects the body. 

 

Reference:

Wang, C et al., Distribution of calcitonin gene related peptide positive neurofibers in local skin tissues of" Neiting"(ST 44)," Zusanli"(ST 36) and" Futu"(ST 32) regions in the rat. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2014 Oct;39(5):377-81.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25518111

Liu C et al., X-ray phase-contrast CT imaging of the acupoints based on synchrotron radiation. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena. Volume 196, October 2014, Pages 80–84.  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0368204813002405

Silberstein M et al., Afferent Neural Branching at Human Acupuncture Points: Do Needles Stimulate or Inhibit?  Medical Acupuncture. Volume: 24 Issue 1: March 16, 2012, doi:10.1089. http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acu.2011.0823

Hong M et al., Heterogeneity of Skin Surface Oxygen Level of Wrist in Relation to Acupuncture Point. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2012, Article ID 106762, 7 pages. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/106762/abs/