Altern Ther Health Med. 2010 Nov-Dec;16(6):30-5. Liu H, Li H, Xu M, Chung KF, Zhang SP.
Examining Acupuncture for Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Detailed Analysis
Summary:
This review, published in Altern Ther Health Med in November-December 2010, aimed to assess acupuncture’s effectiveness in treating trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The review encompassed twelve studies examining the efficacy of acupuncture compared to carbamazepine (CBZ), a common treatment for TN. However, due to the low quality of these studies, a comprehensive meta-analysis couldn’t be conducted.
Method:
Researchers delved into English and Chinese databases to identify randomized controlled studies on acupuncture’s impact on TN. They evaluated the methodological quality of selected studies and analyzed the odds ratios (OR) between treatment and control groups to measure efficacy.
Results:
In the twelve studies reviewed, acupuncture was pitted against CBZ with 506 participants in the acupuncture group and 414 in the control group. The studies lacked strong methodological quality, making it challenging to conduct a meta-analysis. Four trials suggested acupuncture was better than CBZ, while eight found no significant difference between the treatment and control groups. Minimal adverse effects were reported in three studies that examined acupuncture.
Conclusion:
The review indicates that acupuncture could be as effective as CBZ in treating TN but with fewer reported side effects. However, due to the low quality of the studies analyzed, the evidence is not conclusive. Better-designed studies are necessary to validate acupuncture as a reliable treatment for TN.
Summary: This study, published in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine in November 2017, aimed to assess acupuncture’s impact on idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN). Patients were divided into three groups: acupuncture, sham-acupuncture, and carbamazepine (a common medication for ITN). Their pain levels, medication doses, and various sensory evaluations were monitored before, immediately after, and six months post-treatment.
Method: The study included 60 ITN patients and 30 healthy individuals. Patients were randomly assigned to three groups: acupuncture (15), sham-acupuncture (15), and carbamazepine (30). Pain intensity, medication doses, temporomandibular disorder evaluations, masticatory system functionality, and sensory threshold tests were conducted at different intervals.
Results: The acupuncture group showed decreased pain intensity by the end of the study (P=0.012). In contrast, the sham-acupuncture group required increased medication doses (P<0.01). The acupuncture group sustained improvements in myofascial pain and jaw function after six months (P<0.01, P=0.023). Mechanical thresholds improved in the acupuncture group (tactile, P<0.01; vibration, P=0.027), while deep pain thresholds increased in both acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups (P=0.013).
Conclusion: Acupuncture demonstrated potential in treating ITN by reducing pain and associated secondary myofascial discomfort. This suggests acupuncture as a viable option for managing ITN-related pain.
Cancer. 2014 Dec 1;120(23):3744-51. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28917. Epub 2014 Jul 30.
Mao JJ1, Farrar JT, Bruner D, Zee J, Bowman M, Seluzicki C, DeMichele A, Xie SX.
Background
Although fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety are associated with pain in breast cancer patients, it is unknown whether acupuncture can decrease these comorbid symptoms in cancer patients with pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on fatigue, sleep, and psychological distress in breast cancer survivors who experience joint pain related to aromatase inhibitors (AIs).
Methods
The authors performed a randomized controlled trial of an 8-week course of EA compared with a waitlist control (WLC) group and a sham acupuncture (SA) group in postmenopausal women with breast cancer who self-reported joint pain attributable to AIs. Fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression were measured using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The effects of EA and SA versus WLC on these outcomes were evaluated using mixed-effects models.
Results
Of the 67 randomly assigned patients, baseline pain interference was associated with fatigue (Pearson correlation coefficient [r]=0.75; P < .001), sleep disturbance (r=0.38; P=.0026), and depression (r=0.58; P < .001). Compared with the WLC condition, EA produced significant improvements in fatigue (P=.0095), anxiety (P=.044), and depression (P=.015) and a nonsignificant improvement in sleep disturbance (P=.058) during the 12-week intervention and follow-up period. In contrast, SA did not produce significant reductions in fatigue or anxiety symptoms but did produce a significant improvement in depression compared with the WLC condition (P=.0088).
Conclusions
Compared with usual care, EA produced significant improvements in fatigue, anxiety, and depression; whereas SA improved only depression in women experiencing AI-related arthralgia.
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2013 May 1;304(9):E934-43. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00039.2013. Epub 2013 Mar 12.
Johansson J1, Redman L, Veldhuis PP, Sazonova A, Labrie F, Holm G, Johannsson G, Stener-Victorin E.
Abstract
Acupuncture has been demonstrated to improve menstrual frequency and to decrease circulating testosterone in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Our aim was to investigate whether acupuncture affects ovulation frequency and to understand the underlying mechanisms of any such effect by analyzing LH and sex steroid secretion in women with PCOS. This prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted between June 2009 and September 2010. Thirty-two women with PCOS were randomized to receive either acupuncture with manual and low-frequency electrical stimulation or to meetings with a physical therapist twice a week for 10-13 wk. Main outcome measures were changes in LH secretion patterns from baseline to after 10-13 wk of treatment and ovulation frequency during the treatment period. Secondary outcomes were changes in the secretion of sex steroids, anti-Müllerian hormone, inhibin B, and serum cortisol. Ovulation frequency during treatment was higher in the acupuncture group than in the control group. After 10-13 wk of intervention, circulating levels of estrone, estrone sulfate, estradiol, dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione, testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, androsterone glucuronide, androstane-3α,17β-diol-3-glucuronide, and androstane-3α,17β-diol-17-glucuronide decreased within the acupuncture group and were significantly lower than in the control group for all of these except androstenedione. We conclude that repeated acupuncture treatments resulted in higher ovulation frequency in lean/overweight women with PCOS and were more effective than just meeting with the therapist. Ovarian and adrenal sex steroid serum levels were reduced with no effect on LH secretion.
Am J Chin Med. 2018 Oct 9:1-33. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X18500738.
Wang H1,2, Yang G3, Wang S4,2, Zheng X5,2, Zhang W6, Li Y2.
Author information
1 * School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
2 ∥ American TCM Society, New York City, New York, USA.
3 † Department of Specialty Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA.
4 ‡ New York Acupuncture & Chinese Herbs Clinic, New York City, New York, USA.
5 § Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, New York City, New York, USA.
6 ¶ Center for Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract
Acupuncture has been a popular alternative medicine in the United States for several decades. Its therapeutic effects on pain have been validated by both basic and clinical researches, and it is currently emerging as a unique non-pharmaceutical choice for pain against opioid crisis. However, the full spectrum of acupuncture indications remains unexplored.In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 419 acupuncturists nation-wide to investigate the top 10 and top 99 acupuncture indications in private clinics in the United States.We found the top 10 indications to be:lower back pain, depression, anxiety, headache, arthritis, allergies, general pain, female infertility, insomnia, neck pain and frozen shoulder.Among the top 99 indications, pain represents the largest category; and mental health management, especially for mood disorders, is in greatest demand.The following popular groups are: immune system dysfunctions, gastrointestinal diseases, gynecology and neurology. In addition, specialty index, commonality index, and the potential to become medical specialties were estimated for each indication. Demographic analysis suggests that China trained acupuncturists tend to have broader indication spectrums, but the top conditions treated are primarily decided by local needs. Also, gender, resident states, age and clinical experience all affect indication distributions.Our data for the first time outlines the profile of acupuncture treatable conditions in the US and is valuable for strategic planning in acupuncture training, healthcare administration and public education.
