The Journal of Chinese Medicine back issues from June 2007:
Modern auricular therapy: a brief history and the discovery of the vascular autonomic signal.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract This article looks at the recent history of ear acupuncture, the discovery of the somatic representation of the homunculus in the ear and an acupuncture microsystem. It discusses the differences between the Chinese and European systems of auriculotherapy and encourages ...
Successful treatment of ocular myasthenia gravis using acupuncture in conjunction with pharmaceutical treatment: a case report.(Case study)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract In an ocular myasthenia gravis patient without antiacetylcholine receptor antibody, symptoms of ptosis (droopiness of one or both upper eyelids) and diplopia (double vision) improved with the use of acupuncture in combination with conventional medicine. ...
Treatment of chloasma: the therapeutic effect of facial acupuncture combined with moxibustion.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract Objective: To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of treating chloasma using facial acupuncture and direct moxibustion. Method: 121 chloasma patients were randomly divided into two groups: patients in the treatment group (n=68) were treated by facial needling of ...
Vessel theory, acupuncture and correlative thinking in early Chinese medicine.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract The aim of this article is to chronologically chart the process of rationalisation and formalisation of medical philosophy in early China, and the development of the literary tradition accompanying it. As it would be impossible to cover the whole spectrum of historical ...
Acupuncture and in vitro fertilisation: recent research and clinical guidelines.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract The use of acupuncture to improve the outcome of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has become widespread over the past five years. Three of four randomised controlled trials (RCT) published since 2002 have shown that acupuncture significantly increases pregnancy rates. ...
Volunteering in West Bengal.(Acupuncture in India)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract An account of the personal experience of a newly graduated acupuncturist volunteering in a free acupuncture clinic in West Bengal, India. It includes a brief description and analysis of the social and environmental conditions, and the diagnosis and treatment of the ...
Blood Stasis.(Book review)
Jun 01, 2007; ... BLOOD STASIS Gunter R Neeb, Churchill Livingstone, hardback, 351 pages, 36.00 [pounds sterling] 'Panta rhei' (Everything flows), quoted from Heraclitus, heads the dedication page of this fine book. We are familiar with this simple and profound teaching of traditional ...
Xianggong ('fragrant' qigong) for the health of school children: a qualitative pilot study of feasibility and effects.(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract Background: Increasing stress and competitiveness levels in schools require the integration of stress-reducing and relaxing techniques into lessons. Xianggong, a special form of the Asian movement technique qigong, appears suitable for classroom settings. This pilot ...
Electroacupuncture: an introduction and its use for peripheral facial paralysis.
Jun 01, 2007; ... Abstract Acupuncture and electrotherapy interface in the practice of electroacupuncture (EA). This article introduces some of the basic concepts and terminology of EA, its advantages and electrical parameters. The aetiology and incidence of peripheral facial paralysis (PFP), ...
Acupuncture/pressure for morning sickness.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A meta-analysis has examined the effects of various methods for stimulating acupuncture points (acustimulation, AS) for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in pregnant women (NVP). The authors identified 14 eligible trials published over the last 16 years, involving a total of 1615 women ...
Acupuncture for labour induction.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Fifty-six primigravid women at 39 weeks or greater with a singleton gestation and Bishop score (a system for predicting whether induction of labour will be required) of less than seven were randomised to usual medical care or usual care plus three acupuncture treatments. Each treatment ...
Acupuncture facilitates natural birth.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Acupuncture significantly reduces duration of labour and reduces the need for augmentation of labour with contraction-stimulating drugs. A study randomised 100 women with spontaneous rupture of membranes at term to either acupuncture or no acupuncture. Treatment was individualised on the ...
Electro-acupuncture effective for labour pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... In a study investigating the efficacy of electro-acupuncture (EA) for relief of labour pain, 36 pregnant women were randomly divided into an EA group and a control group. Two rounds of EA were carried out, one at the beginning of the active phase of labour and one at 7-8cm of cervical ...
Acumoxa for breech babies.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(acupuncture and moxibustion)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A study has evaluated the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on the behaviour of breech foetuses. Women were treated by stimulating Zhiyin BL-67 twice a week for 20 minutes. Fourteen cases were treated using both acupuncture and moxibustion, 15 cases by moxibustion and ten cases by ...
Acupuncture 'as good as HRT' after oophorectomy.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(hormone replacement therapy)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Acupuncture results in a significant improvement in perimenopausal symptoms in women who have had their ovaries surgically removed (oophorectomy). Sixty-seven women who had undergone oophorectomy were non-randomly divided into two groups. One group was given acupuncture and the comparison ...
Acupuncture reduces hot flush severity.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Acupuncture is associated with a significant decrease in the severity, but not the frequency, of postmenopausal hot flushes. In a randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study, 29 postmenopausal women averaging at least seven moderate to severe hot flushes per 24 hours, were randomised to ...
Medical acupuncture ineffective for hot flushes.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A study has found that medical acupuncture was no more effective than sham acupuncture for reducing menopausal hot flushes. A total of 103 participants were randomised to medical or sham acupuncture. Participants received biweekly treatments for five weeks after a baseline assessment week ....
Acupuncture cost-effective for period pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A pragmatic randomised study has evaluated the clinical and economic effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of women with dysmenorrhoea. 201 patients were allocated to receive either up to 15 acupuncture sessions over three months or no acupuncture. Both groups additionally received ...
Acupuncture has positive effect on IVF.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(in vitro fertilization)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A randomised prospective controlled clinical study examined the effect of luteal-phase acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection. 116 patients receiving acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine were compared with a ...
Acupuncture for chronic prostatitis.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A pilot study has assessed the use of body and auricular acupuncture in men suffering from chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/ CPPS). Ten men who were refractory to conventional therapies were given 30 minutes of body and auricular acupuncture twice weekly for six weeks ....
Acupuncture for ulcerative colitis.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... In a prospective, randomised, controlled clinical trial, 29 patients with mild to moderately active ulcerative colitis were randomly assigned to receive either traditional acupuncture and moxibustion, or sham acupuncture consisting of superficial needling at non-acupuncture points ....
Acupuncture improves chronic knee pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A meta-analysis has evaluated the effects of acupuncture on pain and function in patients with chronic knee pain. Combining data from five randomised controlled studies judged to have high validity (1334 patients), acupuncture was ...
Auricular acupuncture for acute pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A randomised controlled pilot study compared the effects of standard emergency medical care to auricular acupuncture plus standard care in patients with acute pain syndromes. Eighty-seven people with a diagnosis of acute pain completed the emergency room (ER) trial. Participants in the ...
Auricular acupuncture reduces pain after knee surgery.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... The authors of this study investigated the need for postoperative pain medication in 120 patients undergoing knee surgery. Participants randomly received true auricular acupuncture (Lung, Shenmen and Knee points)or a sham procedure (three non-acupuncture points on the auricular ...
Auricular electro-acupuncture reduces histamine itch.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... In a study of 32 healthy volunteers, histamine was applied to both forearms, followed five minutes later by electro-acupuncture to either the left or right ear. The extent of skin reddening on both arms was measured before and after acupuncture. As a control procedure, subjects underwent a ...
Acupuncture eases TMJ pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A double-blind randomised controlled trial followed twenty-seven patients suffering from temporomandibular joint myofascial pain (TMJ/MP) who were assigned to receive either real acupuncture or a sham acupuncture intervention. Real acupuncture was found to have a greater influence than ...
Acupuncture stops gagging.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Acupuncture at REN-24 is an effective method of controlling the gag reflex, which can prevent patients from receiving dental treatment. For this study, members of the British Dental Acupuncture Society took part in a patient audit. Patients had two upper dental alginate impressions taken ...
Acupuncture for anxiety and pain during lithotripsy.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A randomised controlled study was carried out to determine whether a combination of auricular and body acupuncture is effective as an adjunctive treatment for preprocedural anxiety and pain, in 56 patients undergoing lithotripsy (ultrasonic destruction of kidney stones). In the acupuncture ...
Acupuncture reduces anxiety of eye surgery.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... An Italian study has found that patients undergoing cataract removal are less anxious after receiving acupuncture. Participants underwent phacoemulsification, in which the cloudy eye lens is emulsified with an ultrasound probe, before being aspirated and replaced by an artificial lens. The ...
Acupuncture & massage after cancer surgery.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Providing massage and acupuncture in addition to usual care results in decreased pain and depressive mood among postoperative cancer patients. One hundred and thirty eight cancer patients undergoing surgery were randomly assigned to receive either massage and acupuncture on postoperative ...
Acupuncture improves nerve conduction in peripheral neuropathy.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A pilot study has evaluated the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on peripheral neuropathy (PN) as measured by changes in nerve conduction and assessment of subjective symptoms. One hundred and ninety-two consecutive patients with PN as diagnosed by nerve conduction studies (NCS) were ...
Electro-acupuncture reduces post-stroke spasticity.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A combination of electro-acupuncture and muscle strengthening exercises can significantly reduce the spasticity of the wrist joint in stroke survivors. In a crossover trial, seven chronic stroke subjects (average age 63) received two six-week treatment regimens: combined ...
Acupuncture balances anxious immune system.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Acupuncture has been found to counteract impairment of the immune system associated with anxiety. Thirty-four female patients, 30-60 years old, suffering from anxiety, received ten acupuncture sessions during the course of a year (leading to complete remission in all cases). Sessions ...
Acupuncture for substance abuse anxiety.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... An exploratory study evaluated the benefits of adding auricular acupuncture to a 21-day outpatient structured psychoeducational treatment programme for women with concurrent substance use problems, anxiety and depression. Women receiving acupuncture (n=185) reported having reduced ...
Acupressure decreases dementia agitation.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A pilot study has suggests that acupressure can decrease the agitated behaviour associated with dementia. Thirty-one subjects with dementia were assigned to a six-week acupressure treatment programme consisting of five minutes treatment, twice a day, five days a week, for four weeks. After ...
Acupuncture promising for hypertension care.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... The effects of acupuncture as an add-on to conventional antihypertensive management methods (medication and/or lifestyle modification) were investigated. A randomised, doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial recruited 41 hypertensive or pre-hypertensive volunteers and assigned them to real ...
Acupuncture increases nitric oxide synthesis.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Acupuncture significantly increases the concentration of nitric oxide (NO, a key biological signalling molecule involved in vasodilation and neurotransmission) in local body tissues. In a randomised, double-blind, crossover study, 20 volunteers underwent one session each of real and ...
Altered pain sensitivity at disease-specific acupuncture points in PMS.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(premenstrual syndrome)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Specific conditions are commonly believed to alter pain sensitivity at particular corresponding acupuncture points (AP), making them more sensitive than surrounding tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the pressure pain threshold (PPT) of specific AP was associated with ...
Light touch calms nerves.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Recent research shows that C-tactile nerve fibres, which respond to light touch, project into the brain's limbic system and are responsible for the feelings of calm and wellbeing elicited by gentle manual stimulation (such as stroking). A review suggests that these findings are relevant to ...
Acupuncture safe, risks negligible.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Report)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Two prospective surveys conducted among different groups of professionals in the UK, including doctors, physiotherapists and practitioners primarily trained in acupuncture, monitored adverse events to acupuncture over a defined period of time. A total of 652 acupuncturists reported 6733 ...
Electro-acupuncture cures horses' back pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A study of electro-acupuncture for chronic low back pain in horses has found that it can successfully alleviate thoracolumbar pain and that the analgesic effect persists for up ...
Chinese herbs for chemotherapy toxicity.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCHM) does not reduce the toxic effects of chemotherapy on patients' blood cell populations, however it does have a significant impact on control of nausea. One hundred and twenty patients with early-stage breast or colon cancer who required ...
Smoking marijuana eases HIV-related nerve pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... In a randomised placebo-controlled trial, HIV patients smoking cannabis experienced a 34% reduction in neuropathic foot pain, a rate double that experienced by control patients (17%). Fifty patients with HIV-associated sensory neuropathy were randomly assigned to smoke either cannabis or ...
Qigong training improves exercise capacity.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Qigong training can increase the exercise capacity of patients with cardiac impairment. A controlled trial enlisted thirty men and thirteen women, average age 68, suffering from chronic atrial fibrillation. They were randomised to either a 16-week medically assisted qigong training program ...
Qigong training reduces computer operators' stress.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A study has investigated the effects of qigong on stress among computer operators. Ten women were included in a qigong exercise group and an equal number in a control group. Heart rate, blood pressure and finger temperature were measured at the beginning and end of the working day over a ...
Tai chi improves diabetic health.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Practising tai chi may help boost immune function and improve blood sugar control in people with type-2 diabetes. Thirty-two people participated in three hour-long tai chi sessions each week, for a period of 12 weeks. Investigators found statistically significant reductions in levels of ...
Tai chi as good as vaccine against shingles.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Tai chi therapy can boost the immune system of patients with shingles to levels comparable to those achieved using a vaccine against varicella zoster virus (VZV, the virus which causes chickenpox and shingles). A controlled trial randomised 112 healthy adults aged 59 to 86, who had a ...
Tai chi decreases sympathetic nervous activity.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Performance of tai chi leads to a decrease in activity of the sympathetic nervous system, to levels that are not achieved by performing comparable physical activity alone. Participants had completed the above 25-week randomised trial of Tai Chi Chih (TCC), vs health education (HE). TCC ...
Exercise cuts young adults' hypertension risk.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Exercising while young has a positive effect on blood pressure. 3993 women and men, aged between 18-30 at baseline, were tracked for 15 years. Participants were examined at baseline and 2, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years later. Blood pressure and physical activity were measured each time. Overall, ...
Exercise prevents breast cancer.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Regular strenuous physical activity may protect women against developing breast cancer. A cohort of 110,599 female teachers, aged 20-79 years, with no history of breast cancer was followed for seven years. During that time, 2649 were diagnosed as having invasive breast cancer and 593 were ...
Exercise improves prostate pain.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Men who suffer from chronic prostatitis can gain relief by engaging in aerobic exercise. A volunteer sample of 231 males aged 20-50 years old with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, who were unresponsive to conventional treatments, were randomly assigned to an aerobic ...
Black tea reduces ovarian cancer risk.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... The effect of black tea consumption on ovarian cancer risk was recently investigated. A case-control study included 414 women with primary epithelial ovarian, fallopian or peritoneal cancer and 868 age- and region- matched women with non-neoplastic conditions. Compared to women who did not ...
Decreasing caffeine has no effect on pregnancy.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Evidence on the relationship between caffeine consumption during pregnancy and prematurity/low birth weight has been inconclusive, with some studies showing an association while others have not. A new study sought to clarify the situation. 1207 pregnancies among healthy women who drank ...
Mum + fish = clever child.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Eating seafood while pregnant is beneficial for the cognitive development of the child. In a long-term longitudinal observational study, 11,875 pregnant women completed a food frequency questionnaire four times during pregnancy and then periodically answered questions about their ...
Fish = emotional healing.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... One of the authors of the above maternal fish consumption study was also involved in a critical literature survey investigating links between the cultural symbolism of fish and the psychotropic effects of eating it. The survey found that fish have been culturally labelled as symbols of ...
Garlic does NOT lower cholesterol.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Studies evaluating garlic as a cholesterol-lowering agent have produced conflicting results. This trial evaluated the effect of raw garlic and two commonly used garlic supplements on cholesterol levels in adults with moderate hypercholesterolaemia. For the parallel-design trial, 192 adults ...
Cured meat bad for lungs.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Frequent consumption of cured meats has been associated with decreased lung function and increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A cross-sectional study evaluated 7352 people aged 45 or older. Participants' lung function was tested using spirometry to measure forced ...
Reduced salt = improved heart health.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Reducing the amount of sodium in the diet has previously been shown to lower blood pressure. New evidence suggests that it may also reduce the long-term risk of cardiovascular events. In two previous studies, more than 3000 participants with prehypertension were randomised to a reduced ...
Long term risks of low-carb diet.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A new Swedish study suggests that middle-aged women who follow Atkins-style diets risk shortening their lives. The cohort study, initiated in Sweden during 1991-1992, included a 12-year follow up. 42,237 women volunteers from a random population sample, 3049 years old at baseline, ...
Low-fat dairy products linked to infertility.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Consumption of low-fat dairy products has been linked to an increased risk of infertility due to lack of ovulation. A prospective study followed 18,555 married women aged 24-42, without a history of infertility, who attempted a pregnancy or became pregnant during an 8-year period. During ...
Vegetables cut prostate risk.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Eating a diet high in vegetables, particularly those rich in beta-carotene, can reduce the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The data comes from more than 32,000 male health care workers enrolled in a long-term health study, which began in 1986. By 2000, a total of 6,092 men had ...
Whole-grain cereals reduce coronary risk.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... New data from a meta-analysis reviewing the effect of whole-grain foods on coronary heart disease (CHD) has shown that whole-grain cereals can reduce CHD risk factors, with specific reductions in total- and LDL- cholesterol levels ....
Childhood obesity causes early puberty.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... Researchers have found a strong association between obesity and the early onset of puberty in girls. A longitudinal study followed 354 girls from age three to age 12, recording their weight at regular intervals and monitoring for signs of puberty. About 30% of the children were overweight ...
Obese men less suicide prone.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A study has examined the relationship between suicide and body mass index. As part of a prospective long-term cohort study involving 46,755 male health professionals, participants reported their height, weight, diet, and physical activity on repeated occasions from 1986 until 2002. A total ...
High blood sugar is a global killer.(News from The Journal of Chinese Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jun 01, 2007 ... A new study puts high blood glucose among the top five causes of mortality worldwide. Investigators used data collated from a variety of sources covering 52 countries. They calculated that higher-than-optimum blood glucose levels are responsible for 21% of deaths from ischaemic heart ...