Can acupressure help to keep a positive mood?

Self-administered acupressure help get your mood better if you could keep this self-treatment a few time a day according to a report published in the Global Journal of Health Science.

As modern life is moving fast we all get stress sometimes. If the stress is building up it develops to anxiety and depression which affect our daily life and quality of life. How to maintain a positive mood and prevent the negative one is important for us.

Recently a group of scientists in Japan evaluated the effect of self-administered acupressure on the mood levels of university medical students. Fifty-four students were recruited for the study and they were divided into intervention group and control group. Students in intervention group were instructed to apply pressure on acupoint GB12, SI17 and LI18 on both sides for 5 seconds each 3 time a day for 2 weeks. Stimulating those acupoints is believed to have positive impact on the mood. Self-reported tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, vigor, fatigue and confusion were measured before and after the study.

It was found that self-administered acupressure on GB12, SI17 and LI18 can significantly decrease the levels of tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue and confusion and increase vigor.

The study suggests that self-administered acupressure on GB12, SI17 and LI18 can have a positive impact on the levels of mood. This can lead to a better quality of life.

Reference:

S Horiuchi et al., Mood Changes by Self-Administered Acupressure in Japanese College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Global Journal of Health Science; Vol. 7, No. 4; 2015.   http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/gjhs/article/view/43413

Acupuncture improved sleep quality, depression and stress in elderly people

Acupuncture treatment helped get better sleep, improved depression and stress in elderly people as recently reported in journal Neuroscience Letter.

It is known that the sleep quality in elderly people is quite poor due to aging process. Poor sleep in elderly population causes tiredness, loss of interest of daily activity, stress and depression, and can significantly impair the quality of their life. Poor sleep is believed to be associated with many detrimental physiological and psychological changes such as alterations in brain neurotransmitters which are important for maintaining a healthy body and mood.

Recently doctors in Brazil conducted a clinical study to assess the effect of acupuncture on sleep quality in elderly people. Forty-eight elderly (aged 60-77) were randomly assigned into acupuncture group and placebo group. In acupuncture group acupoints SP6, LI4, ST36, LIV3, PC6 and EX-NH3 were stimulated for 25 min, twice a week for total 10 sessions. In placebo group, needle sites were far away from true acupoints, stimulation is superficial and no needle was inserted. Sleep quality, depression and stress were evaluated by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the perceived stress scale (PSS) before and after treatment. It was found that acupuncture markedly improved the sleep quality, depression and stress in all treated participants compared with placebo treatment.

The study also investigated effect of acupuncture on immunosenecence and brain derived neurotrophic factor. No difference was found between acupuncture and placebo groups.

The authors suggest that in elderly population acupuncture could be a very effective treatment for sleep problem, depression and stress without side effect.

Reference:

Zuppa C et al., Acupuncture for sleep quality, BDNF levels and immunosenescence: A randomized controlled study. Neuroscience Letters 587 (2015) 35–40.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25511549

Acupuncture ameliorated chronic non-responding anxiety symptoms

Acupuncture treatment greatly improves chronic non-responding anxiety symptoms and its therapeutic effect is sustainable up to 10 weeks after treatment, according to a randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Acupunct Medicine.

Chronic non-responding anxiety referred to the conditions when the symptoms of anxiety patients lasted more than one year and responded poorly to at least two forms of medications and other therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy and bibliotherapy. These patients made heavy use of health service with little beneficial outcome. It is urgent to find alternative treatment to reduce the suffering of those patients.

Dr. Errington-Evans in Wales, Britain carried out a randomized controlled clinical study to assess the effect of acupuncture on patients with chronic non-responding anxiety symptoms. Forty patients matched with criteria were randomized into two groups. Group one patients (n=25) were give acupuncture treatment at acupoints PC6, HT7 and LR3 for 30 min once a weeks for 10 weeks. Patients in group 2 were not given acupuncture as control. The State and Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to monitor the changes in symptom intensity before and after acupuncture treatment.

At the end of acupuncture State Anxiety score in acupuncture group decreased from 57.7 to 38.8, while the scores in control group only shifted from 61.5 to 60.6. The similar changes was found in Trait Anxiety scores. This showed acupuncture significantly improved anxiety symptoms of those patients. Patients treated with acupuncture felt that they were more prepared to cope with day-to-day activities they had wanted to enjoy prior to the sessions. They identified that acupuncture is an important factor in their new attitude. The follow-up found that improvement of symptoms were maintained 10 weeks after acupuncture. No side effect was reported.

The study suggests that acupuncture is a very effective alternative therapy for patients with chronic non-responding anxiety symptoms.

Reference:

Errington-Evans N, Randomised controlled trial on the use of acupuncture in adults with chronic, non-responding anxiety symptoms. Acupunct Med doi:10.1136/ acupmed-2014-010524.   http://aim.bmj.com/content/early/2015/01/16/acupmed-2014-010524.abstract

Acupuncture improved psychological profiles of migraine patients while reducing migraine attack

Acupuncture has been reported to be very effective in treating migraine. Now it is found that acupuncture also improve psychological profiles of patients with migraine according to a study published in the journal of Indian J Physiol Pharmacol.

Psychological problems are prominent among migraine patients with severe headache, especially among those with chronic daily headache. A very high percentage of patients with chronic daily headache are depressed. Some patients also suffer from paranoia, hypomania and many others. Conventional approach such as painkillers only temporarily relief headache and do not have effect on the psychological profiles of migraine patients.

Dr. Vijayalakshmi and colleagues in India investigated effect of acupuncture on psychological profiles of migraine patients. Sixty patients with migraine were randomly divided into acupuncture group and drug treatment group. Patients in the former group received 10 sessions of electroacupuncture treatment within 30 days. Patients in late group were given oral flunarizine 20 mg daily along with paracetamol 500 mg when it is necessary for 30 days. Assessment was carried out before and after completion of treatment, including quality of life questionnaires and migraine disability questionnaires.

It was found that both acupuncture and drug treatments markedly relieved headache compared with prior treatment scores. Acupuncture significantly improved psychological profiles such as depression, anxiety and hypomania. However pain relief drugs did not affect psychological profiles of migraine patients.

Authors conclude that acupuncture is a better treatment option than the conventional therapy. It not only relieves pain also improved psychological profiles in patients with migraine.

Reference:

Vijayalakshmi I et al., Comparison of effectiveness of acupuncture therapy and conventional drug therapy on psychological profile of migraine patients. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2014 Jan-Mar;58(1):69-76.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25464680

Acupuncture complements with Western medicine in treating with hypertension and psychological symptoms

Acupuncture treatment, alongside with conventional medicine, helps reduce higher blood pressure, calm the patient’s fear and other psychological symptoms and enhance recovery of a patient treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital. According to a case report published in the journal of Complementary Therapies in Medicine.

The report recorded the extreme physiological and emotional shifts manifested in the patient’s tongue on a daily basis which was rarely observed in other hospital settings.

Dr. Kreindler and colleagues, in the Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Israel, reported a case study of individualized acupuncture treatment according to the changes in the tongue of the patient. They reported that an 85-year-old female patient suffering from hypertensive crisis was administered into intensive care unit. Her doctor requested acupuncture treatment in order to provide integrative care for her. The changes in patient’s tongue and pulse were recorded on the daily basis. During the course of medication, cardiac catherterization and recovery, different acupoints were selected according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnosis, including main symptoms, tongue and pulse diagnosis.

It was found that blood pressure of patient normalized within hours after acupuncture and medication. Acupuncture markedly reduced pain, anxiety and improved the wellbeing during the course of treatment and recovery.

The authors suggest that combination of conventional medicine and TCM carries potential to supplement each other and to provide a better patient care.

Reference:

Kreindler GM et al., A tongue’s tale — A case report of traditional Chinese medicine integration in the cardiology department. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, Volume 22, Issue 6, Pages 1041–1046, December 2014.   http://www.complementarytherapiesinmedicine.com/article/S0965-2299%2814%2900156-3/abstract

Acupuncture treatment improves immune system of patients with colorectal cancer

Acupuncture treatment reduced anxiety, depression and improved immune system by increasing natural killer cells, white blood cells and other body defence cells of patients with colorectal cancer treated with chemotherapy, according to a study reported in the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers and is a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Chemotherapy is one of common treatments for colorectal cancer. One of main adverse effects of chemotherapy is suppression of body immune system which has a major prognostic and predictive impact on the fate of cancer patients. How to improve immune system of cancer patients is very important.

Dr. Irene Pais and colleagues in Portugal conducted a randomized pilot study to assess immumodulative effect of acupuncture on colorectal cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy. The cancer patients were given acupuncture at acupoints LV3, ST36, SP3, GB39, LI4, PC5, TB5, and LU7 for 45 min, during which moxibustion was applied on following acupoints SI6, TB5, ST32 and CV6 for 2 min, twice a week for total 6 sessions. Blood tests were carried out prior, during and following acupuncture treatment. Anxiety and depression scores were also evaluated before and after acupuncture.

It was found that acupuncture treatment reduced anxiety and depression and increased natural killer cells by twofold, produced a positive trend on the levels of white blood cells, total lymphocytes, T and B cells compared with baseline and control group. The authors also noticed a tendency for decreasing certain symptoms such as gastrointestinal and urological symptoms and chemotherapy side-effects within acupuncture-treated patients.

The authors suggest that acupuncture may stimulate anticancer immunity, promote a myeloprotective effect and minimize chemotherapy side effect.

Reference:

Pais I et al., Effects of Acupuncture on Leucopenia, Neutropenia, NK, and B Cells in Cancer Patients: A Randomized Pilot Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 2014, Article ID 217397,9 pages.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/217397/

Scalp acupuncture treatment cures anxiety disorders – a case report

Scalp acupuncture with electronic stimulation produces remarkable immediate and long-term therapeutic effects on patients with general anxiety disorders or posttraumatic stress disorder, according to a report published in the journal Global Advances in Health and Medicine.

Anxiety disorders are one of most common psychiatric disorders in Western countries. In the United States, around 40 million adults aged 18 or over have suffered from the condition. Anxiety disorders include general anxiety disorders, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and many others. It is believed that genetic inheritance, abnormal brain neurotransmissions are involved in development of the disorders. Conventional approaches include cognitive behavioural therapy and medication. The latter has many adverse effects. Acupuncture is a popular alternative treatment for the condition.

Dr. Y He and colleagues in the United States designed a scalp acupuncture treatment with two new stimulation areas, one is between Yintang (M-HN-3), Shangxing (DU-23) and Shenting (DU-24) and another is between Taiyang (M-HN-9), Tianchong (GB-9) and Shuaigu (GB-8), to treat the patients with anxiety disorders. They reported two cases with remarkable therapeutic achievement.

The case one was a 70-year-old male with general anxiety disorder and panic attack at night. He was given scalp electroacupuncture for 45 min once a week. After 4 sessions of treatment patients was free of panic attack at night and of anxiety during the daytime. A 4-week follow up found he was still resolved from the condition.

The case two was a 35-year-old male veteran, diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder with symptoms of severe anxiety, insomnia, nightmare, etc plus multiple joint pains. He was treated with scalp electroacupuncture for his mental disorder and body acupuncture for his pain 30 min once a week. After two sessions of treatment, the patient reported that he felt less anxiety and had a better sleep. Following 6 sessions of treatment, patient completely recovered from his mental disorder and went back to work and lived a happy and healthy family life.

The study suggests that acupuncture is very effective in treating anxiety disorders.

Reference:

He Y et al., Scalp acupuncture treatment protocol for anxiety disorders: a case report. Glob Adv Health Med. 2014 Jul;3(4):35-9. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25105075  

Auricular acupuncture treatment reduce craving and anxiety in substance use disorder

Auricular acupuncture treatment significantly reduces craving and anxiety among military veterans in recovery from substance use disorder.

Substance use disorder is a complex brain condition and includes such problems as alcoholism and drug addiction. It occurs when a person has a dependence on alcohol and or drugs that is accompanied by intense or sometimes uncontrollable craving and compulsive behaviour to obtain the substance. Persistence use of substance has dangerous and negative consequence on personal relationship, employment and public safety.

Drs. BH Chang and E Sommers in the United States conducted a randomized controlled clinical study to assess the effect of auricular acupuncture on craving and anxiety of veterans in recovery from substance use disorder. Twenty-three subjects were treated with auricular acupuncture at acupoints Shen Men, Sympathetic, Kidney, Lung and Liver for 30 min, twice a week for 10 weeks. The control group (n=21) were given usual care. Degree of craving for substance on a scale of 1-10 and anxiety level on a scale of 1-4 were rated by each participant before and after acupuncture session.

It was found that auricular acupuncture produced a significantly immediate reduction in craving and anxiety after one acupuncture session compared with baseline, and continued treatment induced a markedly cumulative reduction in craving and anxiety compared with control group. Relaxation-response therapy also reduced craving and anxiety.

The study provided scientific evidence of auricular acupuncture, a non-pharmaceutical approach for treatment of substance use disorder.

Reference:

Chang BH & Sommers E, Acupuncture and relaxation response for craving and anxiety reduction among military veterans in recovery from substance use disorder. Am J Addict. 2014 Mar;23(2):129-36.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25187049

Acupuncture therapy significantly improves quality of life of patients with breast cancer

Patients with breast cancer suffer a lot during treatment both physically and mentally that have significant impact on the quality of life of patients. Recently a randomized placebo-controlled clinical study showed that electroacupuncture (EA) is able to markedly improve fatigue and psychological symptoms of patients with early stage breast cancer. This is the first demonstration of efficacy of EA on such a study reported in the journal Cancer.

Around 50% of breast cancer patients are treated with aromatase inhibitor to prevent disease recurrence. Although the drug is effective many patients experience joint pain and associated fatigue and other psychological symptoms that may cause them stop taking medication. In fact nearly 50% of patients with breast cancer do not complete their recommended treatment courses. This puts those patients in a higher risk of dying both breast cancer and other causes.

Dr. Jun Mao and colleagues in the Abramson Cancer Centre in the United States conducted a randomized placebo-controlled clinical study to assess the efficacy of EA on fatigue and other psychological symptoms of breads cancer patients with aromatase inhibitor-related joint pain. Sixty-seven breast cancer patients who were treated with aromatase inhibitors were divided into three groups, EA group, sham EA group and medication alone group. Patients were given EA and sham EA twice weekly for 2 weeks, then weekly for 6 more weeks, for a total 10 treatments over 8 weeks. Fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression were assessed before, during and after treatment using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). It was found that EA produced a significant improvement in fatigue, anxiety, depression and a non-significant improvement in sleep disturbance during 8-week treatment and 4-week follow-up compared with drug alone group. Sham electroacupuncture only markedly improved depression compared with medication alone group.

The study demonstrated that EA is very effective in reducing fatigue, sleep disturbance and psychological distress related to pain in patients with early stage breast cancer and its effect maintained 4 weeks after intervention.

Referecen:

Mao J et al., Electroacupuncture for fatigue, sleep, and psychological distress in breast cancer patients with aromatase inhibitor-related arthralgia: A randomized trial. Cancer. 2014 Jul 30. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28917.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25077452

Acupuncture therapy has a long-lasting effect in alleviating depression and anxiety

Therapeutic effect of 8-week acupuncture to psychologically distressed patients lasted 24 weeks according to a report published in journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Anxiety and depression are the most common psychological disorders. They have markedly impact on the quality of life of suffers and are a substantial source of medical economic costs. Conventional treatment is not always satisfactory and has many adverse effects. Acupuncture is getting increasingly popular in treating psychological disorders.

Researchers in Sweden conducted an open, randomized controlled clinical study to evaluate the intermediate effects (24 weeks) of 8-week treatment on depression and anxiety. One hundred fifty four patients with psychological distress were randomly allocated to three groups. One group was treated with acupuncture for 45 mins, another was treated with acupuncture plus a person-centred salutogenic dialogue for 60 mins and the third group was given conventional treatment. The treatment was once a week for 8 consecutive weeks. Anxiety and depression were measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales. Mental health status was assessed with the standard Swedish version of Short Form-36. All assessments were performed before, at the end of treatment and 24-week follow-up.

It was found that all treatment groups showed improvement compared with baseline scores. Evaluation of 24-week follow-up demonstrated that acupuncture group and acupuncture plus dialogue group maintained the improvement seen after 8-week treatment; while conventional treatment showed a declined efficacy.

The study suggests that acupuncture has a long-lasting therapeutic effect on anxiety and depression.

Reference:

Arvidsdotter T et al., Six-month effects of integrative treatment, therapeutic acupuncture and conventional treatment in alleviating psychological distress in primary care patients - follow up from an open, pragmatic randomized controlled trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2014, 14:210.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24980440