The Journal of Chinese Medicine back issues from October 2008:
The treatment of male subfertility with acupuncture.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract Male subfertility may be a factor in at least half of all couple infertility, yet apart from assisted reproduction technology (ART), biomedical treatment options are limited. There is growing evidence that acupuncture can improve sperm parameters and may therefore play ...
Multi-bed acupuncture clinics: a new model of practice.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract Multi-bed acupuncture clinics--a recent and successful phenomenon in the UK--utilise a new business model for the provision of more affordable acupuncture treatments. Patients benefit from reduced cost of treatment in ex-change for some loss of privacy, and they ...
Addiction and Chinese medicine.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract This article explains addiction from a Chinese medicine perspective, including the properties and pathologies of addictive substances, the basic patterns of addiction, treatment principles and examples of both herbal and acupuncture treatment methods. The author ...
Heavenly moxibustion and medicinal application moxibustion.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract Heavenly moxibustion and medicinal application moxibustion are little known in the west. They involve applying warm or hot medicinal substances to acumoxa points. The history, materials and methods of application are described along with treatments for a number of ...
Applied Channel Theory in Chinese Medicine--Wang Ju-Yi's Lectures on Channel Therapeutics.(Book review)
Oct 01, 2008; ... APPLIED CHANNEL THEORY IN CHINESE MEDICINE--WANG JU-YI'S LECTURES ON CHANNEL THERAPEUTICS by Wang Ju-Yi & Jason D. Robertson, Eastland Press, hardback, 718 pages, 53.50 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Channel theory is described by Dr ....
Integrating Conventional and Chinese Medicine in Cancer Care.
Oct 01, 2008; ... INTEGRATING CONVENTIONAL AND CHINESE MEDICINE IN CANCER CARE by Tai Lahans Churchill-Livingstone, softback, 395 pages, 34.99 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I felt a sense of familiarity reading the introduction to this book, realising ...
Moxibustion: The Power of Mugwort Fire.
Oct 01, 2008; ... MOXIBUSTION: THE POWER OF MUGWORT FIRE by Lorraine Wilcox Blue Poppy Press, softback, 279 pages, $34.95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lorraine Wilcox is both a scholar of classical Chinese medical texts, and a practitioner of acupuncture, and this ...
Chinese herbal patent medicines for irritable bowel syndrome.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is commonly encountered in the clinic. The use of Chinese herbal patent medicines, prescribed according to pattern differentiation, is discussed in this article. Keywords: IBS, Chinese herbal patent medicine. ...
Zhang Cong-zheng and the attack and drain school.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract This paper appraises the work of the Jin-Yuan dynasty master Zhang Cong-zheng, founder of the Attack and Drain School (Gong Xie Pai). It discusses his revival and refinement of the three methods of pathogen removal as described in the Su Wen and developed in the Shang ...
The treatment of recurrent implantation failure in assisted reproductive technology.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is the repeated failure of an embryo to implant in the uterus of an otherwise healthy woman of childbearing age. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has much to offer women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART), both in ...
Acupuncture improves shoulder pain care.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A multicentre randomised controlled trial conducted in Spain has found that single-point acupuncture in association with physiotherapy improves shoulder function and alleviates pain better than physiotherapy alone. 425 patients with a clinical diagnosis of unilateral subacromial syndrome ...
Acupuncture improves headache treatment.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A large German study has compared the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care in patients with primary headache, to routine care alone. In a randomised controlled trial plus non-randomised cohort study, patients with headache were allocated to receive up to 15 acupuncture ...
Acupuncture for insomnia.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A randomised single-blind trial has examined the efficacy of abdominal acupuncture as a treatment for insomnia. In the Chinese study, 44 women (aged 22 to 56) were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture or medication. The acupuncture group received abdominal acupuncture once a day for ...
Acupuncture for prostate cancer hot flushes.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Both electroacupuncture (EA) and traditional acupuncture (TA) can reduce the impact of hot flushes on men who have had castrational treatment for prostate cancer. Swedish researchers randomised 31 men with hot flushes due to prostate cancer treatment to EA (12 points, with four ...
Electroacupuncture reduces breast cancer hot flushes.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Swedish researchers have compared the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) and hormone therapy (HT) on vasomotor symptoms in women with a history of breast cancer. Forty-five women were randomised to EA for 12 weeks or HT for 24 months. The frequency of, and distress caused by, hot flushes ...
Acupuncture better than usual care for menopausal hot flushes.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A pilot study on the effect of acupuncture in decreasing hot flushes in menopausal women has concluded either that there is a strong placebo effect or that both traditional and sham acupuncture significantly reduce hot flush frequency. Fifty-six postmenopausal women (aged 44 to 55) were ...
Acupuncture improves symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A blinded randomised trial of acupuncture has compared the effect of acupuncture with that of a non-penetrating sham in patients with osteoarthritic knee pain. Sixty-eight acupuncture naive patients with symptomatic and radiological evidence of osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly ...
Acupuncture effective for knee osteoarthritis.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A review, carried out by American researchers, of ten randomised, controlled trials (1456 participants) of acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee has concluded that it is an effective treatment ...
Acupuncture for painkiller-resistant period pain.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Italian scientists have evaluated the effect of acupuncture on dysmenorrhoea that is resistant to treatment by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Fifteen patients received eight weekly acupuncture treatments (at Taixi KID-3, Taichong LIV-3, Gongsun SP-4, Zusanli ST-36, Tianshu ...
Low frequency electroacupuncture better for stroke recovery.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A Korean study suggests that low frequency electroacupuncture (EA) may be more helpful for motor recovery after stroke than high frequency EA. Sixty-two patients with motor dysfunction, hospitalised one week to one month from onset of ischaemic stroke, were treated with 2Hz or 120Hz EA ...
Acupuncture effective for breech correction.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A systematic review from Holland has concluded that acupuncture-type interventions (moxibustion, acupuncture, or electro-acupuncture) on Zhiyin BL-67 are effective in correcting breech presentation, compared with expectant management. Of 65 citations retrieved from various databases, six ...
Acupuncture effective for depression.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Chinese researchers have carried out a meta-analysis to assess the benefits of acupuncture as a treatment for depression. The analysis included eight small randomised controlled trials involving a total of 477 subjects. Their results suggested that ...
Acupuncture helps postoperative pain.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A systematic review has evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for acute postoperative pain management. American authors included 15 RCTs comparing acupuncture with sham control in their analysis. Opioid analgesic consumption, and postoperative pain intensity at 8 ...
Acupuncture after breast cancer surgery.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A Brazilian case series suggests that acupuncture can help in the rehabilitation of women following breast cancer surgery. Twenty-nine women who had lymphoedema and/or a decrease in range of arm movement following surgery were studied. The patients underwent 24 weekly acupuncture sessions ....
Acupuncture helps with dry mouth.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A small study carried out in South Korea investigated the effects of acupuncture on objective and subjective assessment of symptom changes in patients with head and neck cancer who had radiation-induced xerostomia (dry mouth due to lack of saliva). Twelve patients with radiation-induced ...
Acupuncture does not improve pregnancy rate after IVF.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Another systematic review of acupuncture as a support for IVF treatment has been carried out by a London team, this time concluding that it does not improve clinical pregnancy rate. Thirteen relevant trials, including a total of 2500 women randomised to either acupuncture or control, were ...
Acupuncture no better than placebo for stroke recovery.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Acupuncture does not demonstrate specific efficacy over placebo as a treatment for stroke recovery, according to a study at the UK's University of Southampton. Ninety-two patients (between four and ten days after their first stroke) received 12 acupuncture or placebo (mock TENS) treatments ...
Acupressure increases weight gain in premature infants.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... An experimental trial has investigated the effects of acupressure and meridian massage on increasing body weight in premature infants. Forty subjects were randomised into two groups in the Taiwanese study. Those in the experimental group underwent a standard procedure of acupressure at ...
Acupuncture no better than sham for tension-type headache.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised, controlled trials of acupuncture for the treatment of tension-type headache has concluded that it has limited efficacy for the reduction of headache frequency. The study, based on database searches of trials conducted up to the end of ...
Ear acupressure improves antioxidant status in diabetics.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A Taiwanese group has evaluated the impact of auricular pellet acupressure on antioxidant status in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). They studied 69 people with DM, who were allocated either to an experimental group who underwent acupressure or to a control group. The experimental ...
Components of the placebo effect.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A group of American researchers has attempted to separate the placebo effect elicited by acupuncture into three postulated components: patient response to observation and assessment, administration of a therapeutic ritual, and patient response to the patient-practitioner interaction. The ...
Acupuncture changes resting brain activity.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Studies using fMRI to look at brain activity before and after acupuncture suggest that it is capable of affecting the resting state of the brain in a sustained manner. Stimulation of Neiguan P-6 was carried out for 150 seconds using either verum manual acupuncture or sham (non-penetrative ...
Acupressure at Yintang reduces needle pain.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Acupressure at Yintang (M-HN-3) has been found to significantly reduce the pain of hypodermic needle insertion, compared with acupressure at a sham point. Twenty-two healthy female volunteers were randomly allocated to two groups: one group received acupressure at Yintang (M-HN-3), while a ...
Your brain on acupuncture.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A US study used fMRI to analyse the effects on the brain of manual acupuncture stimulation at Erjian L.I.-2, a point commonly used to treat xerostomia (dry mouth due to lack of saliva). Twenty healthy volunteers received true and sham acupuncture in random order while undergoing fMRI ...
Visualisation of acupuncture channels.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A Chinese group has used radioactive tracers in conjunction with MRI to visualise channels originating from acupoints on human meridians. The scientists imaged six regional migration channels originating from six acupoints on the six yin meridians of hand and foot, by injecting a minimal ...
New needle sensation questionnaire.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Researchers from the University of Southampton have generated and validated a new needle sensation questionnaire that can discriminate between pain and deqi (needle sensation). The questionnaire, which was designed following literature review, qualitative patient interviews, and expert ...
Red yeast rice good for heart.(News)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A large clinical study carried out in China, on patients who had suffered a heart attack, found that an extract of Chinese red yeast rice (hong qu mi) significantly reduced the rate of a second heart attack. Red yeast rice is a produced by fermentation using the mould Monascus purpureus ....
Alternative approach better than statins.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... An American randomised controlled trial has compared the lipid-lowering effects of lifestyle changes plus dietary supplements with a standard dose of a statin drug. The study enrolled 74 patients with hypercholesterolaemia and randomised them to an alternative treatment group (AG) or ...
Club moss extract for Alzheimer's disease.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A meta-analysis of data from six trials (454 patients) of huperzine A, an alkaloid extracted from Chinese club moss (qian ceng ta) used as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease suggests that it improves patients' cognitive ...
TCM better than usual care for temporomandibular pain.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A pilot study carried out in the USA has assessed the feasibility of studying whole systems of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and naturopathic medicine (NM) as treatments for temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The study compared TCM and NM with state-of-the-art specialty care (SC) for ...
Anti-cancer fungus.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Scientists looking at the effects of the medicinal fungus Phellinus linteus (song gen) on breast cancer believe they know how its anti-tumour activity may work. They examined the effect of fungus Phellinus linteus extracts (PL) on highly invasive human breast cancer cells growing in vitro ...
Cannabis for neuropathic pain.(News)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A double-blind crossover study conducted in California suggests that smoked cannabis may help neuropathic pain. Thirty-eight patients with central and peripheral neuropathic pain underwent a standardised procedure for smoking either high-dose (7% THC), low-dose (3.5% THC), or placebo ...
Herbal Flu-fighters.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... The Japanese spice wasabi has been found to have potent anti-viral activity against the influenza virus. Ethanol extracts of summer leaves of Wasabia japonica were able to inhibit influenza virus replication in vitro, regardless of the viral hemagglutinin antigen type (the cell surface ...
Soya bad for sperm.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Eating soya-based food may lower sperm count and play a role in male infertility, especially in obese men, according to Harvard researchers. Intake of 15 soya-based foods in the previous three months was assessed for 99 male partners of subfertile couples who presented for semen analysis ....
Flavonoids protect smokers against cancer.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A case-control study of 558 lung cancer cases has found that lung cancer is inversely associated with the consumption of antioxidant plant flavonoids among tobacco smokers, but not among non-smokers. In addition, consumption of vegetables, ...
Plant foods preserve muscle mass.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Western diets rich in protein, cereal grains and other acid-producing foods lead to the development of metabolic acidosis with age, triggering muscle wastage. American researchers looked at links between lean body mass and dietary intake of potassium-rich, alkaline-residue producing fruits ...
DASH for heart health.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Adherence to the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke among middle-aged women. Researchers followed the food choices and health status of more than 88,000 American women for almost 25 years. Those with ...
Almonds promote growth of good bacteria.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Tests in a device that simulates the human digestive system have concluded that almonds can act as an effective prebiotic, stimulating growth of the probiotic ...
Dairy builds better bones.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Childhood dairy consumption may benefit adolescent bone health. Information was gathered on 106 children, 3-5 years old at the start of the study, over a 12-year period. Results showed that the average bone mineral content of adolescents who had ...
Mediterranean diet prevents diabetes.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A Mediterranean diet provides significant protection against type 2 diabetes. A cohort of 13,380 Spanish graduates completed food frequency questionnaires over a 4.4 year follow-up. Participants who adhered closely to a Mediterranean diet (rich in olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts, ...
A glass of wine for your liver's sake.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Modest wine consumption, defined as one glass a day, may decrease your chances of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). 7,211 non-drinkers and 945 modest wine drinkers were screened for elevated liver enzyme levels associated ...
Vitamin C lowers diabetes risk.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Another cohort study from the UK has found that higher plasma vitamin C levels are associated with a decreased risk for type 2 diabetes. 21,831 people aged 40-75 underwent baseline measurement of plasma vitamin C levels and were then followed over twelve years using a food frequency ...
Vegan diet protects RA patients from cardiovascular disease.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Eating a gluten-free vegan diet could protect rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients against heart attacks and stroke. Sixty-six Swedish patients with active RA were randomly assigned to either a vegan diet free of gluten or a well-balanced non-vegan diet for one year. The gluten-free vegan ...
Coffee and tea protect against stroke.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Drinking large quantities of coffee or tea every day appears to protect male smokers against stroke. A large cohort study (26,556 subjects) of male Finnish smokers (aged 50 to 69), showed that those who consumed eight or more cups of coffee per day had a 23% lowered risk for cerebral ...
Coffee may be good.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Higher coffee consumption is associated with lower liver cancer risk. A cohort of 60,323 Finns completed a questionnaire about their medical history, socioeconomic factors and dietary and lifestyle habits. Participants were divided into five categories of coffee consumption: 0-1 cup, 2-3 ...
Green tea lowers cholesterol.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... In a Taiwanese randomised controlled trial, 78 obese women who took 400mg of green tea extract three times a day for 12 weeks experienced significant reduction in LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and a simultaneous increase in levels of ...
Green tea expands blood vessels.
Oct 01, 2008; ... Green tea can increase arterial dilation, which is linked to better cardiovascular health. Researchers from Greece tested subjects after they consumed green tea, 125mg of caffeine and 450ml of hot water on three separate occasions. They measured the diameter of the brachial artery in each ...
Tea is good for the brain.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A cohort study of 2501 people from Singapore has found that regular tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cognitive impairment and decline. The effects were most evident for black (fermented) and oolong ...
Breastfeeding means brighter kids.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Breastfeeding during the first months of life appears to raise a child's verbal IQ, according to a study of nearly 13,889 children carried out in Belarus. Six-year-olds whose mothers had been part of an education program that encouraged them to breast-feed were found to have a verbal IQ ...
Breastfeeding reduces mothers' risk of RA.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Women who breastfeed for longer have a decreased chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Researchers compared 136 women with rheumatoid arthritis with 544 women of a similar age. They found that those who had breast fed for longer were much less likely to get RA. Women who had ...
A troubled childhood leads to an unhealthy adult.(News)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Adverse experiences in childhood increase the risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. 9310 members of the 1958 British birth cohort took part in a biomedical interview at 45 years of age. Several adversities in childhood were associated with increased risk for obesity ...
Active women protected against breast cancer.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Physically active women are less likely to get breast cancer. A review of all published literature to September 2007 was conducted using online databases; 34 case-control and 28 cohort studies were included. Evidence for a risk reduction associated with increased physical activity was ...
Exercise reduces cancer deaths in men.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Men who exercise often are less likely to die from cancer than those who don't exercise. A cohort of 40,708 Swedish men aged 45-79 was followed for six years. Men who walked or cycled for at least 30 minutes a day had a 33% ...
Twenty minutes housework enough to boost mental health.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Taking part in just 20 minutes of any physical activity per week is enough to improve mental health. Researchers interviewed 19,842 Scottish men and women about their state of mind and weekly physical activity. Doing any form of daily physical activity (including housework, gardening, ...
Grief can be addictive.(News)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Prolonged, unabated grief, known as complicated grief, activates neurones in the brain's reward centres, possibly giving memories of lost loved ones addictive qualities. US researchers looked at 23 women who had lost a mother or sister to breast cancer. They found that 11 had complicated ...