This blog is to share the latest research and development of acupuncture and raise the awareness of alternative treatments for your conditions, and is for information only.

Monday 27 June 2016

What do we know so far about acupuncture treatment with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

Recently an article summarized our understanding about acupuncture to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The article was published in journal of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration.

Pre-clinical model studies showed that acupuncture stimulation improved motor neuron survival and delayed loss of motor performance and this was accompanied by reduced inflammatory reaction in acupuncture treated group compared with control group. However, there were many flaws in the designs of studies, including small sample size, non-blind raters.

Clinical studies from separate three groups revealed that effect of acupuncture treatment varied from achieving significant improvement in motor function in some patients to minor alleviation in other patients. However, there was incomplete detail regarding the ALS diagnoses, lack of a control group, failure to use validated ALS outcome measures in those reports.

Nonetheless, some evidence suggests that acupuncture can at least alleviate two common ALS symptoms: pain and spasticity with little adverse effect.

Reference
The ALSUntangled Group (2015) ALSUntangled No. 28: Acupuncture, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 16:3-4, 286-289, DOI:10.3109/21678421.2015.1039240.    http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/21678421.2016.1172818

Sunday 19 June 2016

Acupuncture therapy improved sexual function in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder

A prospective cohort pilot study showed that acupuncture therapy significantly improved sexual function in premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. The study was recently published in journal of Sexual Medicine.

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is the most common form of sexual dysfunction in women. It was estimated that HSDD affected up to 43% women in the United State. However, standard options have not demonstrated symptomatic improvement and conventional pharmacologic medications have not been consistently helpful.

Recently Dr. SH Oakley and colleagues in the United States conducted a prospective cohort pilot study to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture on HSDD. Thirteen patients with HSDD were enrolled for the study. They were given acupuncture treatment 25 min each time, twice a week for 5 consecutive weeks. Outcome measurements include Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI] questionnaire, The Female Sexual Distress Scale Revised (FSDS-R) questionnaire and were monitored before treatment and one week after intervention. It was found that acupuncture significantly improved sexual function, in particular desire, arousal, lubrication and orgasm.

The results of study suggest that acupuncture can act as therapeutic option with women with low sexual desire.

Reference
Oakley SH et al., Acupuncture in premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder: a prospective cohort pilot study. Sex Med. 2016 Mar 28. pii: S2050-1161(16)00032-5.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27033339

Sunday 12 June 2016

Acupuncture and Metformin combined therapy is more effective than Metformin monotherapy in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus

 When acupuncture was combined with Metformin to treat patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, combined therapy induced significant loss of body weight and improved insulin sensitivity compared with Metformin alone. A randomized clinical study was reported in journal of Nutrition & Diabetes.

Metformin monotherapy is a first-line drug to type 2 diabetes mellitus, but its effectiveness does not meet the expectation. Many patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were not satisfied with the outcome of treatment.

Recently a group of clinical scientists led by Professor BM Zhu conducted a randomized clinical study to assess the effect of combined acupuncture with Metformin on type 2 diabetes mellitus compared with Metformin monotherapy. Thirty-nine patients were divided into combined group and mono group. Patients in combined group were given Metformin and acupuncture treatment. Electroacupuncture was performed on 10 body acupoints plus some ear acupoints for 30 min each time, on alternative day, 10 times within 3 weeks. Mono group were given Metformin only. Outcomes were measured by changes in serum inflammatory markers, lipid profiles and adipokines at the baseline and end of 3-week treatment.

It was found that acupuncture combined Metformin therapy significantly improved body weight, body mass index, fasting blood sugar, fasting insulin compared with Metformin monotherapy group. Further, combined therapy markedly reduced serum inflammatory markers, lipid profiles and adipokines compared with monotherapy group.

The study suggested that acupuncture combined Metformin therapy is more effective in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus than Metformin monotherapy.

Reference
Firouzjaei A et al., Comparative evaluation of the therapeutic effect of metformin monotherapy with metformin and acupuncture combined therapy on weight loss and insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients. Nutr Diabetes. 2016 May 2;6:e209. doi: 10.1038/nutd.2016.16.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Firouzjaei%20A%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=27136447

Monday 6 June 2016

Objective assessment of efficacy of electroacupuncture in the treatment of gait disorder in Parkinson’s disease

A report was just published to confirm the efficacy of electroacupuncture treatment on gait in patients with Parkinson’s, by using body-worn sensors, an objective monitoring device. The pilot study was published by journal PLOS one.

Parkinsonian gait is mainly characterized by general slow movement, in particular by a reduction of gait speed and stride length. The progressive nature of symptoms leads to the freezing of gait and falls. Parkinsonian gait tends to be difficult treated, as drug treatment and deep brain stimulation have limited efficacy. Acupuncture has been effectively used to relieve parkinsonian symptoms; however, its efficacy remains controversy.

Recently Dr. H Lei and colleagues in the United States conducted a clinical study by using wearable sensor technology, to objectively assess the efficacy of acupuncture treatment on gait in patients with Parkinson’s. PD patients were randomly allocated into real acupuncture group (n=10) and sham acupuncture group (n=5). In real group, electroacupuncture was applied on different acupoints on the scalp, body and limbs, for 30min, once a week for 3 weeks. In sham group, acupuncture needles were applied just under skin, ca 4mm at non-acupoints on the scalp, body and limbs without stimulation. The participants and assessors were masked to eliminate potential bias effect. Outcomes were monitored at baseline and after completion of treatments. Measurements included gait analysis perimeters. In addition, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain were utilized.

Results showed that electroacupuncture treatment statistically significantly improved gait symptoms judged by all gait objective measurements compared with sham acupuncture control group. In particular gait speed was markedly improved compared with sham control.

This was the first participants- and assessors- masked randomized control study that, using body-worn sensor technology to objectively assess potential benefits of EA in enhancing spatio-temporal parameters of gait in PD patients.

Reference
Lei H et al., A Pilot Clinical Trial to Objectively Assess the Efficacy of Electroacupuncture on Gait in Patients with Parkinson's Disease Using Body Worn Sensors. PLoS One. 2016 May 26;11(5):e0155613.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27227460