While the use of acupuncture has been recognised by the World Health Organisation, its efficacy for many of the common clinical conditions is still undergoing validation through randomised controlled trials (RCTs). A credible placebo control for such RCTs to enable meaningful evaluation of its efficacy is to be established. While several non-penetrating acupuncture placebo devices, namely the S...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine whether 3 days of TENS therapy postoperatively after shoulder operations would result in better pain relief and/or reduced analgesic intake when compared to placebo. METHOD The study was carried out randomized, double-blind and placebo controlled. Thirty patients were randomized to two groups. The verum group received TENS SM1AKS 80 Hz 6 mA an...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to determine whether acupuncture would relieve the vasomotor symptoms of post-menopausal women. DESIGN A randomized, single-blind trial. SETTING A small city in a rural area of Eastern Oregon. INTERVENTIONS Women were recruited into the study from the community by advertising or physician referral. All study subjects were in non-surgical menopause and ...

The study by Heusser et al. is interesting but also somewhat puzzling. These authors tested whether homeopathic antimony 6x has a pro-coagulatory effect on 30 healthy volunteers after i.v. administration. They found significant changes on one of several variables tested. However, the clotting time shows no significant changes in the group of 30 volunteers. The authors, nevertheless, report sign...

Methods Adult patients diagnosed with migraine without aura who had previously not had prophylactic treatment were recruited from fi ve hospital outpatient departments. They were randomised to two groups in equal numbers: (1) the treatment group had verum acupuncture plus placebo medication and (2) the control group had sham acupuncture plus fl unarizine, a drug recommended as a fi rstline prev...

This study was performed to observe the influence of sham and different verum acupuncture manipulations on skin temperature of the stimulated acupoint in healthy volunteers. Thirty-seven healthy volunteers with a mean age of 25.4 ± 2.2 years were enrolled in the study. All volunteers had experienced acupuncture before. They received sham acupuncture and two different kinds of verum acupuncture ...

From 19 species of Galium, members of 6 European sections of the genus, 24 compounds were isolated, namely 16 iridoid glucosides, 2 secoiridoid glucosides and 6 triterpene saponins (the later found only in G. rivale (Sibth. & Sm. Griseb.) The iridoid content was analyzed by thin layer chromatography - densitometry. An effort was made to clarify interspecies relationships, based on the obtained ...

BACKGROUND & AIMS : We hypothesize that wound closure in trauma patients with disorders in wound healing is accelerated by supplementation of antioxidant micronutrients and glutamine. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 20 trauma patients with disorders in wound healing were orally supplemented with antioxidant micronutrients (ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, β-carote...