Though the effects of acupuncture in atopic dermatitis have been proven in clinical studies, its mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness and mechanism of action for acupuncture treatment on the LI11 meridian point for treatment of allergic contact dermatitis. BALB/c mice received 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB) application to induce skin inflammation. Acupu...

BACKGROUND Clinical studies suggest that acupuncture can stimulate saliva production and reduce xerostomia (dry mouth). We were interested in exploring the neuronal substrates involved in such responses. METHODS In a randomized, sham acupuncture controlled, subject blinded trial, twenty healthy volunteers received true and sham acupuncture in random order. Cortical regions that were activated...

Acupuncture has long been used to treat urticaria in the Asian world. Acute urticaria can be easily and effectively treated with acupuncture. L111 (Quchi), Sp10 (Xuehai), Sp6 (Sanyinjiao), and S36 (Zusanli) are the 4 acupuncture points most commonly prescribed. Chronic urticaria is a challenge for medical therapy. There are at least 6 kinds of acupuncture methods developed to overcome this chal...

BACKGROUND It is not known whether or not delivering acupuncture triggers mechanisms cited as placebo and if acupuncture or sham reduces radiotherapy-induced emesis more than standard care. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Cancer patients receiving radiotherapy over abdominal/pelvic regions were randomized to verum (penetrating) acupuncture (n = 109; 99 provided data) in the alleged antiemetic ...

Acupuncture textbooks mention a wide assortment of indications for each acupuncture point and, conversely, each disease or indication can be treated by a wide assortment of acupoints. However, little systematic information exists on how acupuncture is actually used in practice: i.e. which points are actually selected and for which conditions. This study prospectively gathered data on acupunctur...

Two consecutive studies were undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as an antiemetic used in addition to premedication with opioids in patients undergoing minor gynaecological operations. In the first study 25 of the 50 patients underwent acupuncture immediately after premedication with 100 mg meptazinol, the rest receiving the drug alone, and in the second 75 patients were all...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this single-blind randomized crossover study was to evaluate specific effects of manual acupuncture on central and vegetative nervous system activity measured by quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) and heart rate variability (HRV). DESIGN Twenty (20) healthy volunteers (mean: 25.2 +/- 3.6 years) were monitored simultaneously using a qEEG system and a 12-channel el...

We performed a positron emission tomography study, using regional cerebral blood ̄ow as the index of brain activity, to address the speci®city of brain activation pattern by acupuncture stimulation of short duration at the classical analgesic point. Needling manipulation at 2 Hz was performed at a classical point of prominent analgesic ef®cacy (Li 4, Heku) and a near-by non-classical/non-analge...

INTRODUCTION Point injection as a therapeutic technique is well documented, but its physiological effects have not been formally compared with traditional acupuncture. One aim of this study was to compare the effects of the two techniques at one acupuncture point, as a step towards understanding the mode of action of point injection and validating its clinical use. A second aim was to explore w...