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 31 October 2016

Mechanisms of electroacupuncture reducing hypertension

Although acupuncture was effective in lowing blood pressure in hypertension, its mechanisms of action is not clear. Very recently a study in hypertension model showed that electroacupuncture-induced increase in mRNA level of preproenkephalin in the rostral ventrolateral medulla is closely associated with significantly decreased blood pressure. The report was published in journal of Scientific Reports.

Dr. M Li and colleagues in the USA investigated the mechanisms of action of electroacupuncture in lowing blood pressure in hypertension model. Electroacupuncture was applied at ST36-37 acupoints overlying the deep peroneal nerve for 30 min twice a week for five weeks. Elevated blood pressure was markedly reduced after six sessions of treatment and remained low 72 hrs after electroacupuncture compared with control groups. Biochemical studies found that mRNA level of preproenkephalin in the brain area called rostral ventrolateral medulla was significantly increased in those electroacupuncture-treated hypertension model. Further, microinjection of ICI 174,864, a δ-opioid receptor antagonist, into the rVLM of electroacupuncture-treated hypertension model partially reversed effect of electroacupuncture on increased blood pressure. This suggested that blood pressure lowing action of electroacupuncture was very closely linked to the elevated levels of preproenkephalin in the brain rostral ventrolateral medulla of hypertension model.

Reference

M Li et al., Repetitive Electroacupuncture Attenuates Cold-Induced Hypertension through Enkephalin in the Rostral Ventral Lateral Medulla. Scientific RepoRts| 6:35791 | DOI: 10.1038/srep35791.   http://www.nature.com/articles/srep35791

Sunday 16 October 2016

Acupuncture is very effective in treating primary headache disorders

Recently a review paper by Drs. Coeytaux and Befus found that acupuncture treatment is quite effective in treating migraine, tension-type headache and several different types of chronic headache disorders. The study was published in journal of Headache.

Drs. Coeytaux and Befus reviewed many systematic reviews and meta-analyses studies, including three arguably most important and informative systematic reviews of effectiveness of acupuncture for primary headache disorders and papers showing that acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture for relieving pain and reducing the use of medication for acute migraine attacks.

They found that there is a sufficient number of published trials that showed acupuncture is effective as an adjunct to usual care in the management or prevention of common headache disorders compared with usual care only, medication management and sham acupuncture 2 month after treatment, although the outcome of the longer-follow-up was mixed. Further, growing literatures presented that acupuncture is a cost-effective in the Germany and United Kingdom.

The authors suggested that additional sham controlled trials are not likely to definitively clarify the extent to which nonspecific effects contribute to observed clinical benefit associated with acupuncture. “This area of research and practice would be well served by comparative effectiveness, safety, or cost-effectiveness trials. Such trials could provide clear guidance to patients and their healthcare providers who seek to better understand what benefits, potential harms, and economic costs they might expect from acupuncture relative to other therapeutic approaches for treating or preventing migraine, tension-type headache, medication overuse headache, or other common headache disorders.”

Reference
RR Coeytaux & D Befus, Role of Acupuncture in the Treatment or Prevention of Migraine, Tension-Type Headache, or Chronic Headache Disorders. Headache. 2016 Jul;56(7):1238-40.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27411557

Saturday 1 October 2016

Acupuncture treatment markedly improved psoriasis – a case report

Acupuncture treatment significantly improved psoriasis in a patient who suffered the upsetting skin condition for 20 years. A case reported was recently published in journal of Acta Dermatovenerologica Croatica.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune and recurring condition that caused raised, red and scaly patches to appear on the skin. Conventional treatments such as topical, phototherapy and systemic approaches help to keep the condition under control. However the outcome is not always satisfactory and often associated with long-term adverse effect.

Recently Dr. Darija Mahović and colleague in Croatia reported a case of acupuncture treatment to a patient with severe psoriasis and chronic migraine. The patient was given acupuncture on the head, arms and legs for 30 min once a day for 10 days with interval of 2-3 days between treatments. Patients did not use any specific topical anti-psoriatic treatment during acupuncture. Patient stated that very soon after each acupuncture treatment she noted a significant improvement regarding psoriasis lesion and “she has not had such a good skin for a long time”. Meanwhile, patient’s chronic migraine was markedly relieved following acupuncture treatment.

Authors suggest that dermatologists should be informed about the potential of acupuncture for psoriasis treatment.

Reference
D Mahović & F Mrsić, Acupuncture as a Complementary Method of Traditional Psoriasis Treatment: Myth or Reality? Acta Dermatovenerol Croat. 2016;24(3):221-222.     . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27663925