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 helps people with narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by suddenly, uncontrollably fall asleep at any point during a day and muscle weakness or loss of muscular control called cataplexy. Typically these sleep attacks last up to 30 mins. While these episodes of sleep can be brief, they can be very dangerous, if you are driving or doing some potential risk activities. It is believed that genetic factors, abnormal neurotransmitter availability and environmental factors are associated with the development of narcolepsy. However immune dysfunction induced autoimmune response also causes narcolepsy. Regular sleep habits and better life style minimize narcolepsy. For many people it is necessary to take medication to avoid narcoleptic attacks. The standard drugs used to treat narcolepsy include stimulants such as mofafinil and sodium oxybate used to treat narcolepsy with cataplexy. While treating narcolepsy these drugs cause many side effects.

Acupuncture is effective at controlling narcoleptic symptoms. Scalp acupuncture can improve neurological function. Auricular technique can affect neuro-point responsible for the synthesis of neurotransmitters associated with the sleep cycle, in particular if patients with narcolepsy are reluctant to succumb to taking psychostimulant. Acupuncture can complement the Western medical treatment to achieve better efficacy and reduce side effect.

A recent clinical study in China reported that acupuncture treatment, by modulating nutrient qi and defence qi, significantly improved narcolepsy and immune system function in narcoleptic patients with autoimmune disorder.

Reference

Zheng H et al., Thirty-two cases of narcolepsy treated by acupuncture of regulating nutrient qi and defense qi. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2014 Feb;34(2):197-8.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=narcolepsy%2C+acupuncture

Acupuncture improves essential tremor

It must be Parkinson’s. Not really. It could be essential tremor if you see someone’s hand or head shaking.  Essential tremor is a common movement disorder characterized by uncontrollable shaking or “tremor” in different parts of body, but often in the hands. Essential tremor (action tremor) is distinct from Parkinson’s (resting tremor) although some people many have both. Essential tremor gets worse when you are nervously doing something. The causes of essential tremor is not clear although genetic factors are believed to play an important role and the tremor may be a symptom of other disorders such as overactive thyroid and withdrawal symptoms when stop drinking alcohol. Essential tremor often occurs in adults over 40s. There is no worry about a mild essential tremor, however if the tremor gets worse medical advice is needed. The conventional treatment includes beta blocker (propranolol), anticonvulsant (primidone) and sedatives which all have adverse effects with prolonged use.

A few clinical studies reported amazing effects of acupuncture on patients with essential tremor. One earlier case study in the United State reported that a 38-year-old female patient suffered from tremor of the upper extremities since 2-3 years old and was treated with propranolol and diazepam for many years. She had developed an intolerable head tremor over a year before she was treated with acupuncture. After three acupuncture sessions within one month, the patient reported her head tremor was greatly improved and an unexpected complete resolution of her upper extremities tremor. Five months after last acupuncture patient reported no recurrence of her symptoms without taking any medications. A physical examination including neurological assessment was normal. 

For details please visit the following links: http://neurologyinchinesemedicine.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/benign-essential-tremor-resolved-with-acupuncture-from-online/

Can acupuncture help patients with multiple system atrophy?

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of nerve cells in the specific brain areas. The neuronal degeneration impairs body’s movement, balance and autonomic functions including blood pressure, heart rate, bladder control and digestion. There are three types of MSA. Parkinsonian type includes slow movement, mild tremor and stiff muscles similar to those of Parkinson’s. Cerebellar type is characterized by the loss of balance and tendency to fall, slurred-speech and visual disturbance. The third is the combination type which may include symptoms of both types. MSA occurs in people at their 50s or 60s and affects more men than women. The cause of MSA is unclear. There is currently no cure for it. The standard medication is for symptom relief only.

One of unique approaches of acupuncture therapy is to treat multiple symptoms simultaneously. Acupuncture helps improve bowel and bladder function, blood pressure, double vision, impairment of speech and motor functions. In combination with herbal medicine and life style changes, acupuncture significantly enhances the quality of life of many patients with MSA.

Acupuncture helps improve diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic condition wherein the body is unable to properly metabolize sugar leading to the symptoms of excessive hunger, excessive thirst, frequent urination and loss of body weight. Body’s sugar level is controlled by hormone insulin produced by the cells in the pancreases. Lack of insulin or poor response to insulin result in failure to break down glucose to energy, leading to high blood sugar.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine have been used to treat diabetes for over 2000 years. Diabetes was described as “wasting and thirsting disease” in “Huangdi Neijing”, a classic book of traditional Chinese medicine about 2500 years ago. Patients are described as having symptoms of increased hunger, increased thirst and frequent urination and rapid loss of weight; all symptoms of diabetes. Ancient Chinese medicine practitioners were able to diagnose diabetes using ants. If ants were attracted to the urine sample placed closing to ant colony the practitioners knew there was excess sugar in the blood.

Patients with type I diabetes need insulin injection for the rest of their life. Acupuncture has a history to rebalance body’s systems through increasing blood circulation etc and this should minimise long-term impact of cardiovascular problems which tend to develop in later years in type I diabetes. Recently a study of type II diabetes reported that acupuncture treatment of 83 women patients significantly reduced levels of fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance index, total cholesterol, triglyceride and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and markedly increased insulin sensitivity index, index of islet beta-cell function and high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

This suggests that acupuncture is effective in decreasing blood sugar level, improving pancreatic function and minimizing risk of cardiovascular system.

Reference:

Wang Y et al., Efficacy analysis on type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with acupuncture in females. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2014 Jan;34(1):21-4.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24673047

How does acupuncture improve premature ovarian failure?

Premature ovarian failure (POF) occurs when a woman’s ovaries, which store and release eggs, stop working before she turns age 40. It is characterised by irregular periods or cessation of periods associated with high levels of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, and low levels of oestrogen. Infertility is a common result. It is believed that causes of POF may be linked to genetic factors, autoimmune disorders, resulting from pelvic surgery such as hysterectomy and cancer treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Patients with POF are often recommended to have hormone replacement therapy to prevent some of the problems. For women wishing to have a baby, IVF with donor’s egg is the recommended course of action.

Acupuncture has long been used to treat infertility-related conditions. However how does acupuncture regulate ovulation is unclear. Recently a pilot study investigated the mechanisms of acupuncture in ovulation regulation in patients with POF. Thirty one patients with POF were treated with acupuncture once other day, three times a week for three months. At the end of treatment, biochemical studies showed that the serum levels of follicle stimulation hormone and luteinizing hormone were significantly reduced and serum levels of oestrogen were significantly elevated compared to prior treatment base line. Four patients resumed menstrual cycle after treatment and two patients resumed menstrual cycle during one month follow-up. The data suggested that acupuncture improves POF by regulating ovulation related hormones.

Reference:

Chen Y et al., Effect of acupuncture on premature ovarian failure: a pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014; 2014:718675. doi: 10.1155/2014/718675. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24711856

Acupuncture has beneficial effects on male infertility

Do you know that men suffer from infertility as frequently as women? In fact approximately 35% of infertility problems among couples are actually caused by male conditions. It is believed that changes in sperm structure and quality (e.g. reduced sperm mobility, abnormal sperm shape and size and low sperm count), genetics and physiological changes are responsible for male infertility. Other factors such as life style and stress can also have impact on the fertility and addressing these problems may have a significant positive effect.

Acupuncture is used to improve men infertility. Many clinical studies reported that acupuncture may improve sperm motility, count and quality, and may have a beneficial effect on psychogenic erectile dysfunction. In particular one study, using transmission electron microscopy, analysed sperm ultrastructural changes in men after acupuncture treatment. The authors found that the number and percentage of healthy sperm increased dramatically and sperm structure and quality were significantly improved following acupuncture treatment. For example, prior to acupuncture, only 22.5% of the sperm samples in the patients contained normal-shaped acrosomes, a cap-like structure that develops over the anterior portion of a sperm cell's nucleus, important to facilitate fertility. After acupuncture, the median percentage of normal acrosome shapes showed a statistically significant improvement up to 38.5%.

The authors concluded that male infertility could benefit from acupuncture based on improvement of sperm quality, specifically in the ultrastructural integrity of spermatozoa after the treatment.

Reference:

Pei J et al., Quantitative evaluation of spermatozoa ultrastructure after acupuncture treatment for idiopathic male infertility. Fertil Steril. 2005 Jul; 84(1):141-7.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16009169