A 24-month follow up study of acupuncture treatment to
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) suggests that significant beneficial effects of acupuncture
observed between 3 and 9 months after treatment on IBS are unlikely to be due
to the non-specific effect, rather likely is associated with the underlying
physiological mechanisms of action. The study was recently published in journal
Acupuncture in Medicine.
Dr. H MacPherson and colleagues conducted a 24-month
follow up study having published their 12-month study in journal of BMC
Gastroenterology (MacPherson et al. BMC Gastroenterology 2012, 12:150). In
their 12-month study they found that acupuncture treatment significantly
reduced IBS Symptom Severity Scores at the end of 3-month treatment (acupuncture
weekly to 10 sessions) compared with the usual care control group. The benefits
largely persisted 3, 6 and 9 months after treatment.
In their 24-month follow up study, no statistical significant
difference of IBS Symptom Severity Scores was found between acupuncture group
and usual care group at 24-month. They suggested that this may be, at least in
part, linked with the progressive improvement reported within the usual care
group.
The follow up study also found a statistically
significant difference favouring acupuncture at 12-month, which was only shown
a statistical tendency in the previous report. Further, authors suggested that
sustainable therapeutic effects between the end of treatment at 3 months
through 24 month indicated that obvious benefits of acupuncture represented more
than a simple placebo response.
Reference
MacPherson H et
al., Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: 2-year follow-up of a randomised
controlled trial. Acupunct Med. 2016 Mar 15. pii: acupmed-2015-010854. doi:
10.1136/acupmed-2015-010854. http://aim.bmj.com/content/early/2016/03/15/acupmed-2015-010854.abstract
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