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 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

Acupuncture helps improve attention deficit hyperactivity disroder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behaviour conditions among children. ADHD is a condition of the brain that makes it difficult to concentrate or control impulsive behaviour. This means a child’s behaviour can be anything from being very dreamy – unable to pay attention, through to being always on the go – hyperactive. Children with ADHD, may have above-average intelligence, will take longer time to settle and concentrate than those without it, and may often have problem following instructions. For some children with ADHD, the condition is long term and can continue to adult life. The causes of ADHD are not fully known. It is believed that genetic factors are important because ADHD tends to run in family. Imbalance of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and noradrenalin in the brain may contribute the occurrence of ADHD as these chemicals are particularly associated with attention, organization and managing emotions.

ADHD management comprises of medication, behavioural therapy, lifestyle and dietary modification. Acupuncture is an excellent addition to any treatment plan as it is used to help the body restore balance, treating the root of disorders, while also diminishing the symptoms of ADHD. It is believed acupuncture help improve focus and attention, manage moods, reduce fidgeting, lower hyperactivity and enhance concentration. For example, a clinical study reported that combination of acupuncture and behaviour therapy has positive effect in reducing symptoms of ADHD in children with ADHD.

Reference:

Li S et al., Randomized-controlled study of treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder of preschool children with combined electro-acupuncture and behaviour therapy. Complement Ther Med. 2010 Oct;18(5):175-83. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2010.08.002.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21056840

Acupuncture as an adjunct therapy improved conditions of patients with eating disorders

Eating disorders are serious and complex emotional and physical conditions and include extreme thoughts, emotions, and behaviours surrounding body weights, food and body shape. Bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are the most common forms of the disorders. Binge eating is another type of eating disorder. While commonly affecting young woman, eating disorders can impact all age and genders. Conventional treatments of eating disorders include psychological therapies, nutritional counselling and medication.

Medical complications of eating disorders comprise multiple body systems including gastrointestinal, cardiac, endocrine systems. Resulting problems can be anything ranging from depression, headache and infertility, with digestive systems being mostly disrupted.

Acupuncture therapy offers a holistic dimension that treats body, mind and emotion simultaneously. Acupuncture is very effective in treating many digestive conditions such as acid reflex, nausea, abdominal bloating, constipation, diarrhoea etc. It reduces stress and anxiety helping mental and physical relaxations. As a recent study showed that as an adjunct therapy acupuncture helped improve the conditions of patients with eating disorders.

Reference:

Forgarty S et al., Acupuncture as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of eating disorders: A randomised cross-over pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine (2010)18, 233-240.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21130359

Acupuncture improved cancer-related psychological symptoms

Having been through many either pharmacological therapy or radiotherapy or chemotherapy many cancer patients develop several of cancer-related psychological symptoms such as depression, insomnia and anxiety. These severely affect the quality of their life. Conventional medications may improve the symptoms but they inevitably produce many adverse effects which can augment the side-effects of many cancer therapies carried out by cancer patients.

 

It is the interest of primary care institutions and patients to find the alternative approaches which relieve cancer-related psychological symptoms with little unwanted effects. Acupuncture therapy is one of the popular therapies for the symptoms. A recent report by Drs. Haddad and Palesh reviewed 12 clinical studies about the efficacy of acupuncture and concluded that acupuncture improved cancer-related psychological symptoms and is well-tolerated and safe treatment for patients.

Reference:

Haddad NE & Palesh O., Acupuncture in the Treatment of Cancer-Related Psychological Symptoms. Integr Cancer Ther. 2014 Feb 4. DOI: 10.1177/1534735413520181.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24501113

Acupuncture treatment for depression during pregnancy

Depression is a medical condition and results from a combination of factors such as life style, family history, personality and stressful events. Changes in brain chemistry such as neurotransmitters are believed to play a big role in depression. It is known that women are at greater risk of depression at certain time in their lives, such as puberty, during pregnancy, and during perimanopause. The hormonal and physical changes and added responsibility of new life can lead to postnatal depression, also called postpartum. It is characterized by feelings of sadness, indifference, exhaustion and anxiety. It affects approximately one in every ten women who have had a child. Pharmacologic treatments of depression during pregnancy increasingly raise the concerns about the safety for the developing foetus, and pregnant women are often reluctant to take antidepressant medication. Consequently there is a need for safe, effective alternative treatments for depression during pregnancy.

Dr. Manber and colleagues studied the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture on pregnant women with depression. The results are particularly interesting. One hundred and fifty women were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) acupuncture, in which depressive symptoms were specifically addressed (n = 52); (2) valid controlled acupuncture, which was not specifically tailored for depression (n = 49); and (3) massage therapy (n = 49). The treatment consisted of 12 sessions (25 to 30 min each) over an 8-week period. Patients and the treating acupuncturist were blinded. Symptoms were assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17 and Beck Depression Inventory. At the end of the treatment, women who received acupuncture specific for depression experienced greater rate of reduction in symptom severity compared with the control groups. They also had significantly greater response rate than control groups.

In conclusion, acupuncture treatment demonstrated symptom reduction and response rate comparable to those observed in standard medication. Acupuncture could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy.

Reference

R Manber et al., (2010) Obstet Gynecol. 115(3):511-20. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20177281

Effect of acupuncture treatment on depression, one of the non-motor psychiatric symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Psychiatric symptoms are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), occur at higher prevalence than in age-matched controls and have significant impact on quality of life. However psychiatric symptoms are often underrecognized in clinical practice because of the lack of spontaneous complaints from patients. Depression is one of the most common psychiatric symptoms occurring in PD patients. PD patients with depression feel sad, anxiety, irritable and restless, and may lose interest in activities once enjoyable etc. The causes of depression in PD patients are not clear but the decreased levels of serotonergic and noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission in brain are implicated as relevant factors.

In clinical studies, one of the prominent responses to acupuncture treatment in PD patients, is the reported effect on depression. Many patients experienced great improvement in their symptoms and this is reflected on the results of Beck Depression Inventory, one of the most widely used instruments for measuring severity of depression, which showed a significant decrease in the scores in patients with acupuncture therapy compared with control treatment group. It has been reported that acupuncture stimulation caused activation of serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe neuclei in the midbrain leading to elevated levels of serotonin which is confirmed by neuroimaging studies.

Reference:

ML Eng et al., (2006) Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 12, 395-399. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=eng+ml%2C+acupuncture%2C+parkinson%27s