Medline Acupuncture Abstracts

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Zhong F, Wu LZ, Han JS. Suppression of cue-induced heroin craving and

cue-reactivity by single-trial transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation at 2

Hz. Addict Biol. 2006 Jun;11(2):184-9. Neuroscience Research Institute,

Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking

University, Beijing, China. The purpose of the present study was to

investigate the efficacy of 2 Hz transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

(TENS) to reduce cue-induced heroin craving and the corresponding

cardiovascular responses. Seventy heroin addicts with at least 1 month of

abstinence were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups of 35, to

receive single-trial 2 Hz TENS (TENS group) or mock TENS (mock group)

during experimental procedure, respectively. They were required to express

their degree of craving by visual analog scale before and after the

presentation of a video-cue, and after TENS treatment, which lasted for 30

minutes. Heart rate and arterial blood pressure were simultaneously

monitored in 56 cases, with 28 in each group. Results show that in mock

group, video-cue induced a dramatic increase of craving score, which did

not return to baseline in 150 minutes, whereas in the TENS group, 2 Hz

TENS treatment produced a significant decrease of craving, reaching

baseline in 90 minutes. Video-cue induced a significant increase of heart

rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which remained elevated for

at least 60 minutes in the mock group; whereas in the TENS group, they

returned to baseline immediately after the termination of TENS. These

results indicate that the craving induced by a heroin-related cue can be

immediately and significantly suppressed, and the cardiovascular activation

totally abolished by a single-trial 2 Hz TENS for 30 minutes. PMID:

16800833 [PubMed - in process]

 

Takahashi T. Acupuncture for functional gastrointestinal disorders. J

Gastroenterol. 2006 May;41(5):408-17. Department of Surgery, Duke

University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Functional

gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in the general population.

Especially, motor dysfunction of the GI tract and visceral hypersensitivity are

important. Acupuncture has been used to treat GI symptoms in China for

thousands of years. It is conceivable that acupuncture may be effective in

patients with functional GI disorders because it has been shown to alter acid

secretion, GI motility, and visceral pain. Acupuncture at the lower limbs (ST-

36) causes muscle contractions via the somatoparasympathetic pathway,

while at the upper abdomen (CV-12) it causes muscle relaxation via the

somatosympathetic pathway. In some patients with gastroesophageal reflux

disease (GERD) and functional dyspepsia (FD), peristalsis and gastric

motility are impaired. The stimulatory effects of acupuncture at ST-36 on GI

motility may be beneficial to patients with GERD or FD, as well as to those

with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), who show

delayed colonic transit. In contrast, the inhibitory effects of acupuncture at

CV-12 on GI motility may be beneficial to patients with diarrhea-

predominant IBS, because enhanced colonic motility and accelerated

colonic transit are reported in such patients. Acupuncture at CV-12 may

inhibit gastric acid secretion via the somatosympathetic pathway. Thus,

acupuncture may be beneficial to GERD patients. The antiemetic effects of

acupuncture at PC-6 (wrist) may be beneficial to patients with FD, whereas

the antinociceptive effects of acupuncture at PC-6 and ST-36 may be

beneficial to patients with visceral hypersensitivity. In the future, it is

expected that acupuncture will be used in the treatment of patients with

functional GI disorders. PMID: 16799881 [PubMed - in process]

 

Witt CM, Jena S, Selim D, Brinkhaus B, Reinhold T, Wruck K, Liecker B,

Linde K, Wegscheider K, Willich SN. Pragmatic Randomized Trial

Evaluating the Clinical and Economic Effectiveness of Acupuncture for

Chronic Low Back Pain. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Jun 23; [Epub ahead of

print] Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics,

Charite University Medical Center, Berlin, Germany. In a randomized

controlled trial plus a nonrandomized cohort, the authors investigated the

effectiveness and costs of acupuncture in addition to routine care in the

treatment of chronic low back pain and assessed whether the effects of

acupuncture differed in randomized and nonrandomized patients. In 2001,

German patients with chronic low back pain were allocated to an

acupuncture group or a no-acupuncture control group. Persons who did not

consent to randomization were included in a nonrandomized acupuncture

group. All patients were allowed to receive routine medical care in addition

to study treatment. Back function (Hannover Functional Ability

Questionnaire), pain, and quality of life were assessed at baseline and after

3 and 6 months, and cost-effectiveness was analyzed. Of 11,630 patients

(mean age = 52.9 years (standard deviation, 13.7); 59% female), 1,549

were randomized to the acupuncture group and 1,544 to the control group;

8,537 were included in the nonrandomized acupuncture group. At 3 months,

back function improved by 12.1 (standard error (SE), 0.4) to 74.5 (SE, 0.4)

points in the acupuncture group and by 2.7 (SE, 0.4) to 65.1 (SE, 0.4) points

among controls (difference = 9.4 points (95% confidence interval 8.3, 10.5);

p < 0.001). Nonrandomized patients had more severe symptoms at baseline

and showed improvements in back function similar to those seen in

randomized patients. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was

{euro}10,526 (euros) per quality-adjusted life year. Acupuncture plus routine

care was associated with marked clinical improvements in these patients

and was relatively cost-effective. PMID: 16798792 [PubMed - as supplied by

publisher]

 

 

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