Case studies and small trials suggest that acupuncture may effectively treat hypertension, but no large randomized trials have been reported. The Stop Hypertension with the Acupuncture Research Program pilot trial enrolled 192 participants with untreated blood pressure (BP) in the range of 140/90 to 179/109 mm Hg. The design of the trial combined rigorous methodology and adherence to principles...

BACKGROUND Electrical stimulation of the P6 acupuncture point reduces the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Neuromuscular blockade during general anesthesia can be monitored with electrical peripheral nerve stimulation at the wrist. The authors tested the effect of neuromuscular monitoring over the P6 acupuncture point on the reduction of PONV. METHODS In this prospective...

Acupuncture as an essential component of complementary and alternative medicine is gradually recognized and accepted by the mainstream of contemporary medicine. For obtaining preferable clinical effectiveness, Deqi is commonly regarded as efficacy predictor and parameter which is necessary to be achieved. Influential factors for acupuncture efficacy, like Deqi sensation as well as propagated se...

As an alternative and complement to conventional or allopathic medicine, acupuncture has become a firmly established therapy in many countries. Despite this wide acceptance, the question of how acupuncture works, or whether it works at all, remains the subject of lively debate. One problem in the discussion of acupuncture and its possible mechanisms is that acupuncture is not only used for the ...

BACKGROUND The concept of acupuncture point localisation in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is based on millenary practical experience. Modern imaging methods such as PET, MRI and SPECT have been used primary for the investigation of the mechanisms of action of acupuncture. In this pilot single-case study we have evaluated the technical possibilities for in-vivo imaging of the anatomical rel...

This second part of a series of Sino-European high-tech acupuncture studies describes the first clinical transcontinental teleacupuncture measurements in patients with insomnia. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements in 28 patients (mean age ± SD: 41.9 ± 14.6 years) were performed under standardized conditions in Harbin, China, and the data analysis was performed in Graz,...

BACKGROUND Recently, increasing evidence has indicated that the primary acupuncture effects are mediated by the central nervous system. However, specific brain networks underpinning these effects remain unclear. RESULTS In the present study using fMRI, we employed a within-condition interregional covariance analysis method to investigate functional connectivity of brain networks involved in a...

A middle cerebral artery occlusion-model was established in rats using the improved thread embolism method. Rats were treated with acupuncture at either Dazhui (DU14), Renzhong (DU26), Baihui (DU20), or a non-meridian point. Detection with protein-chip technology showed that the level of protein phosphorylation in both groups was upregulated or downregulated depending on the signaling pathway c...

Introduction Acupuncture has been frequently applied to low back pain (LBP). A number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for LBP have already been published. According to systematic reviews of the relevant RCTs, conclusions regarding the efficacy of acupuncture are contradictory. This maybe because the quality of the trials is generally low. It has been suggested that further...

399 The subject of acupuncture is surrounded, in some circles, with notions of mysticism and movements of energy through meridian channels invisible to the naked eye and a nomenclature for the internal organs that perplexes many Western-trained scientists confronted with the Chinese literature. While a large number of randomized controlled trials provides growing evidence of the clinical effica...