A randomised controlled trial conducted in Italy, has found that acupuncture is as good as standard drug treatment for helping the pain of acute herpes zoster (shingles).
A total of 102 patients were randomised to receive either acupuncture or standard drug treatment (comprising as many as several drugs, as required), for four weeks. The acupuncture was administered twice per week. Both treatments were judged to be effective with no significant differences between the two groups as measured by response rates and pain scores. The authors conclude that given the reduced likelihood of cumulative drug toxicity in patients receiving acupuncture, this option is promising for future treatment of acute shingles pain.
(Acupuncture for the Treatment of Severe Acute Pain in Herpes Zoster: Results of a Nested, Open-label, Randomised Trial in the VZV Pain Study. BMC Complement Altern Med, June 2011.)
In the first study of its kind, Japanese researchers have found that acupuncture appears to benefit glaucoma patients by reducing intraocular pressure, and improving blood circulation behind the eye. Eleven patients with open-angle glaucoma were enrolled to receive either acupuncture treatment or rest. Acupuncture consisted of one 15 minute experimental treatment. Measurements of pressure and blood flow, showed that in the short-term, intraocular pressure decreased significantly after acupuncture, and this was accompanied by improved blood flow behind the eyes.
(Evidence Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, March 2011 Epub ahead of print.)
Norwegian researchers have concluded that acupuncture is an effective adjunctive treatment for post-operative nausea and vomiting in children after surgery to remove adenoids or tonsils.
In a randomised controlled trial, 154 children were selected to receive either acupuncture during anaesthesia plus acupressure wristbands for the following 24 hours alongside standard drug treatment, or they received standard drug treatment alone. The acupuncture group experienced significantly less retching and vomiting (46.8%) compared with the control group (66.2%).
(Perioperative Acupuncture and Postoperative Acupressure can prevent Postoperative Vomiting following Paediatric Tonsillectomy or Adenoidectomy: A Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial. Acupunct Med, Dec 2010. Epub ahead of print.)
Researchers in Hong Kong have carried out a randomised controlled trial to study the effects of acupuncture on lazy eye in children, and have found that it is significantly more effective than standard treatment.
A total of 88 children with a lazy eye (anisometropic amblyopia) were randomly assigned to receive either the standard treatment of two hours daily patching of their sound eye, or five sessions of acupuncture per week, for 15 weeks. The visual acuity of the lazy eye improved by an equivalent amount in both groups. However, the proportion of children whose amblyopia was resolved, was significantly higher in the acupuncture group (42%) compared with the patching group (17%). The researchers conclude that acupuncture could eventually become an alternative treatment option for lazy eye.
(Randomised Controlled Trial of Patching vs Acupuncture for Anisometropic Amblyopia in Children Aged 7 to 12 Years. Archives of Ophthalmology, Dec 2010.)
Researchers in Korea have shown that acupuncture treatment of acne vulgaris, can reduce the number of inflammatory lesions and improve patients’ quality of life.
Thirty-six participants with moderate acne, were randomised to receive acupuncture twice weekly for six weeks, either at general acupuncture points only, or at both general points and tender points. After six weeks, both groups exhibited similar and significant improvements from baseline in inflammatory lesion counts, quality of life scores, and subjective symptom scores.
(Efficacy of Ah Shi Point Acupuncture on Acne Vulgaris. Acupunct Med. Sept 2010.)
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