Acupuncture Continuing Education News

Acupuncture plus herbs increases the total effective rate of medications for the treatment of pneumonia. Researchers from Hanzhong Railway Central Hospital combined traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment with drug therapy in a controlled clinical trial. Two groups were compared. The control group received standard drug therapy. The treatment group received acupuncture and herbs in addition to identical drug therapy treatment protocols administered to the

Acupuncture improves fallopian tube patency and increases pregnancy rates. A combination of warm needle acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine improves tubal patency and increases pregnancy rates in women with fallopian tube obstruction. These are the findings of a study conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Tongchuan Chinese Medicine Hospital (Shaanxi, China). [1]

Acupuncture decreases the risk of heart disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Based on a sample size of 9,932 patients from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database, researchers determined that rheumatoid arthritis patients had a significantly lower risk of developing coronary heart disease if they received acupuncture. [1] This applies to patients receiving manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture. In addition, beneficial additive effects were found

Acupuncture and herbal medicine improve rheumatoid arthritis patient outcomes. Qingdao Integrated Medicine Hospital (Shandong) researchers conclude that a combination of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and drug therapy is more effective than drug monotherapy. [1] Two groups were compared in a clinical study. One group received a combination of the herbal formula Wen Shen Tong Bi Tang, warm needle acupuncture, diclofenac, and methotrexate. The other

Acupuncture reduces the frequency and severity of angina attacks. [i] A multi-center investigation finds acupuncture treatment on disease-affected acupuncture channels is more effective than treatment on non-affected channels or sham acupuncture. The results were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Acupuncture combined with herbal medicine is effective for the alleviation of depression. Researchers from Shaoxing Seventh People’s Hospital conclude that a modified version of the herbal formula Chai Hu Shu Gan San plus acupuncture is effective for the treatment of depression. [1] Based on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, serum cytokine, and neurotransmitter levels, the total effective rate was 100% for patients receiving both

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine alleviate cerebral infarctions (strokes). Using MRIs, Guangyuan City Third People’s Hospital researchers conclude that acupuncture plus Bu Yang Huang Wu Tang improves brain functional connectivity in cerebral infarction patients. Results were especially pronounced in the central-cerebellar and central-contralateral anterior gyrus regions. In addition, the acupuncture and herbal medicine combination reduced risk factors by lowering total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density

Acupuncture aids compression fracture recovery. Fujian Provincial Geriatric Hospital (Fuzhou, China) research demonstrates that acupuncture improves recovery following percutaneous vertebroplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a type of surgery that involves injecting a medical grade acrylic cement into a fractured vertebra to promote stabilization. The study compared two groups, one received percutaneous vertebroplasty monotherapy and the other received percutaneous vertebroplasty plus

Acupuncture outperforms drug therapy for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. Researchers from the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Nanjing Medical University compared the efficaciousness of acupuncture with sodium hyaluronate eye drops for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. Sodium hyaluronate achieved a 30.0% total effective rate and acupuncture achieved a 68.3% total effective rate. Acupuncture outperformed drug therapy for the improvement of lacrimal gland