Researchers have carried out a systematic review of trials which have investigated the benefits of acupuncture treatment for high blood pressure which is not secondary to any other medical condition (essential hypertension). Twenty trials were included, of which three were judged to be relatively rigorous in their design and general quality.

Overall, acupuncture was found to have significant effects on blood pressure compared to controls. In the rigorous trials in particular, acupuncture plus standard drug treatment, resulted in significantly lower blood pressure than sham control acupuncture plus drugs.

(Acupuncture for Essential Hypertension. Altern Ther Health Med March-April 2010.)

Acupuncture given before surgery, can help to protect the heart during valve replacement operations: damage to tissue caused when blood supply is restored after open-heart surgery, contributes to post-operative complications and mortality.

In a randomised, controlled trial, sixty patients were allocated to receive either a 30 minute electroacupuncture treatment on five consecutive days before surgery, or no treatment as a control. Measured at 6,12 and 24 hours after post-operative restoration of the heart’s blood supply, levels in the blood of a biochemical marker for heart muscle damage, were significantly lower in the electroacupuncture group compared to the control group. The former group were also found to require shorter stays in intensive care.

(Cardioprotective Effects of Electroacupuncture Pretreatment on Patients undergoing Heart Valve Replacement Surgery: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Ann Thoracic Surgery March 2010.)

German researchers have found that acupuncture can significantly reduce itching in patients with atopic eczema.

An allergen was applied to the skin of thirty participants with atopic eczema, before and after true acupuncture, sham acupuncture (needling at non-acupuncture points), and no acupuncture. Objective measurements of wheal and flare size at the site, plus skin perfusion, were all carried out ten minutes later. Researchers found true acupuncture performed just after allergen exposure, appeared to soothe subjective feelings of itchiness significantly more than the sham or no-treatment controls. They also found a significant preventative benefit on itching, and a less severe skin reaction, when true acupuncture was given prior to allergen exposure.

(Influence of Acupuncture on Type I Hypersensitivity Itch and the Wheal and Flare Response in Adults with Atopic Eczema – A Blinded Randomised Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial. Allergy Journal 2010. Epub ahead of print.)

A pilot study has found that acupuncture can improve the symptoms and quality of life for men with chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Ninety-seven men were given six, weekly acupuncture treatments, and results showed there to be a statistically significant improvement in all prostatis symptom scores (pain, urinary function, quality of life, and overall scores). In all, 92% of the men were classified as having responded to treatment, as defined by a greater than 50% decrease in symptom scores.

(Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Patients with Category IIIB Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Report of 97 Patients. Pain Med Jan 2010. Epub ahead of print.)

A small randomised, controlled study to assess the effect of individualised acupuncture and moxibustion for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), has concluded that it shows promise as a treatment. Twenty-nine IBS patients were randomised to receive either real treatment, or sham treatment as a control.

After four weeks of treatment twice-weekly, the acupuncture group experienced significant improvements in average daily abdominal pain, intestinal gas, bloating and stool consistency, whereas the control group showed minimal improvement.

(Symptom Management for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial of Acupuncture/Moxibustion. Gastroenterol Nurs. 2009 July-August.)

Robin’s note: The term “moxibustion” refers to the burning of a Chinese herb called moxa, on or near to specific acupuncture points to warm them.