Acupuncture Relieves Menopausal Discomfort in Breast
Cancer Patients
Bokmand S, et al. Department of Breast Surgery, Vejle
Hospital, Denmark; Department of Breast Surgery, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.
BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the effect of acupuncture
on hot flashes and disturbed night sleep in patients treated for breast cancer. The effect of acupuncture
was tested against a sham-acupuncture group and a no-treatment control group. Plasma estradiol was
measured to rule out this as cause of effect. Side effects of the treatment were registered. METHODS: We
randomized 94 women into the study: 31 had acupuncture, 29 had sham acupuncture and 34 had no treatment.
FINDINGS: In the acupuncture group, 16 patients (52%) experienced a significant effect on hot flashes
compared with seven patients (24%) in the sham group (p < 0.05). The effect came after the second
acupuncture session and lasted for at least 12 weeks after last treatment. A statistically significant
positive effect was seen on sleep in the acupuncture group compared with the sham-acupuncture and
no-treatment groups. The effect was not correlated with increased levels of plasma estradiol. No side
effects of acupuncture were registered. INTERPRETATION: We find that acupuncture significantly relieves
hot flashes and sleep disturbances and is a good and safe treatment in women treated for breast cancer.
The project is registered at Clinical Trials.gov (no: NCT00425776).
Breast.2012 Aug 17.
Source: PubMed
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Can Acupuncture Affect the Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure?
Kim HM, et al. 1 Department of Cardiovascular &
Neurologic Diseases, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, Korea.
Abstract Objectives: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture
on the circadian rhythm of blood pressure (BP) in patients with hypertension. Design: The study was
designed as a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Subjects were randomly divided into an active
acupuncture group and a sham acupuncture group. Each patient received real or sham acupuncture treatment
twice a week for 8 weeks. Acupuncture needles were inserted at bilateral ST 36 plus PC 6; placebo points.
Subjects: Thirty-three (33) patients with essential hypertension were the subjects. Outcome measures:
Twenty-four (24)-hour ambulatory BP was assessed before and after treatment. Results: After the treatment
period, there was a significant increase in nocturnal diastolic BP dipping compared to that at baseline
(10.20±7.56 mm Hg versus 5.21±10.19 mm Hg, p=0.038) in the active acupuncture group but not in the sham
acupuncture group. The nocturnal diastolic BP dipping response to active acupuncture treatment was
significantly different from the response seen with the sham acupuncture treatment (p=0.041). The number
of dippers also increased from 4 to 8 in the active acupuncture group. Average systolic and diastolic BP
was not changed significantly except for nighttime diastolic BP (90.32±11.47 mm Hg to 87.83±9.16 mm Hg,
p=0.041). Conclusions: It is suggested that acupuncture treatment could be useful for improving the
circadian rhythm of BP in patients with hypertension.
J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Aug 20.
Source: PubMed
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Acupuncture in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Suzuki M, et al. Department of Respiratory Medicine,
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan. masuzuki@meiji-u.ac.jp
BACKGROUND: Dyspnea on exertion (DOE) is a major symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is difficult to control. This study was performed to determine whether acupuncture is superior to placebo needling in improving DOE in patients with COPD who are receiving standard medication. METHODS: Sixty-eight of 111 patients from the Kansai region of Japan who were diagnosed as having COPD and were receiving standard medication participated in a randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial (July 1, 2006, through March 31, 2009) in which the patients, evaluators, and statistician were unaware of the random allocation. Participants were randomly assigned to traditional acupuncture (real acupuncture group, n=34) or placebo needling (placebo acupuncture group, n=34). Both groups received real or placebo needling at the same acupoints once a week for 12 weeks. The primary end point was the modified Borg scale score evaluated immediately after the 6-minute walk test. Measurements were obtained at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. RESULT: After 12 weeks, the Borg scale score after the 6-minute walk test was significantly better in the real acupuncture group compared with the placebo acupuncture group (mean [SD] difference from baseline by analysis of covariance, -3.6 [1.9] vs 0.4 [1.2]; mean difference between groups by analysis
of covariance, -3.58; 95% CI, -4.27 to -2.90). Patients with COPD who received real acupuncture also
experienced improvement in the 6-minute walk distance during exercise, indicating better exercise
tolerance and reduced DOE. CONCLUSION: This study clearly demonstrates that acupuncture is a useful
adjunctive therapy in reducing DOE in patients with COPD.
Arch Intern Med.2012 Jun 11;172(11):878-86.
Source: PubMed
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