Acupuncture
as a Potential Treatment for Non-Cardiac Chest Pain
Macpherson H, Dumville JC.
OBJECTIVE: To establish the level of interest in acupuncture as a treatment
option for non-cardiac chest pain and to identify the factors associated with
this interest. BACKGROUND: Non-cardiac chest pain is known to be a prevalent
condition in the general population. Treatment options are limited. Given that
acupuncture has a potential role in the treatment of chronic pain, this study
was designed to establish the levels of interest in acupuncture among people
with continuing non-cardiac chest pain. METHODS: This small study formed part of
a larger retrospective cohort study, and was conducted with all 235 people who
were given a diagnosis of non-cardiac chest pain at the Rapid Access Chest Pain
Unit in York within a 14 month period. We collected data on whether people
continued to experience chest pain, and if so, whether they had considered, or
would consider, acupuncture as a treatment. We used ordinal logistic regression
to investigate potential covariates, including sex and age, that might be
associated with this interest. RESULTS: In total, 161 (69%) participants
returned questionnaires, 75 (47%) of whom were experiencing continued chest pain
with a median duration of 5.4 months. Of these participants, 42% reported that
they would consider acupuncture, 36% reported that they would not, and 22% did
not know. In the ordinal regression model, we found no covariates significantly
associated with the strength of participants' interest in acupuncture.
CONCLUSION: People with continuing non-cardiac chest pain after attending a
Rapid Access Chest Pain Unit have shown considerable interest in acupuncture as
a primary care treatment option.
Acupunct Med. 2007 Jun;25(1-2):18-21.
Source PubMed
[TOP]
Two Styles of
Acupuncture for Treating Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Ahn AC, Bennani T, Freeman R, Hamdy O, Kaptchuk TJ.
In a pilot study, we evaluated the clinical and mechanistic effects of two
styles of acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Japanese
acupuncture, for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. Out of seven
patients enrolled, three received Traditional Chinese acupuncture while four
received Japanese style acupuncture. Treatments were delivered once a week for
10 weeks. Acupuncturists were permitted to select the needle interventions.
Substantial differences in diagnostic techniques, choice of acupuncture points,
and needle manipulation were observed between TCM and Japanese acupuncturists.
Clinically, patients allocated to Japanese acupuncture reported decreased
neuropathy-associated pain according to the daily pain severity score, while the
group allocated to the TCM acupuncture reported minimal effects. Both
acupuncture styles, however, lowered pain according to the McGill Short Form
Pain Score. The TCM style improved nerve sensation according to quantitative
sensory testing while the Japanese style had a more equivocal effect. No evident
changes were observed in glucose control or heart rate variability in either
group.
Acupunct Med. 2007 Jun;25(1-2):11-7.
Source: PubMed
[TOP]
Investigation of
the Effects of Chinese Medicine on Fibroblast Viability: Implications in Wound
Healing
Lau TW, et al. Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese
University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China.
Diabetes mellitus has been a clinical problem for hundreds of years. Over 194
million people suffer from this disease worldwide. Improper control of diabetes
may result in diabetic foot ulcer or even amputation. Granulation formation is
an important issue essential for ulcer healing. The CRL-7522 fibroblast cell
line and primary fibroblasts from a diabetic foot ulcer patient were used to
model the wound healing enhancing activities of two clinically efficacious
Chinese herbal formulae, Formula 1 (F1) and Formula 2 (F2) and their component
herbs. Results showed that the two formulae and four of their component herbs,
Radix Astragali, Radix Rehmanniae, Rhizoma Alismatis and Rhizoma Atractylodis
Macrocephalae significantly enhanced CRL-7522 cell viability. However, these
component herbs showed compromised effects on the viability of primary
fibroblasts cultured from the ulcerous tissue of a diabetic patient.
Interestingly, F1 and F2 enhanced the viability of primary cultured fibroblasts
from the diabetic patient even in the face of insulin resistance. These results
further support the previously reported clinical efficacies of the two formulae
on healing diabetic foot ulcers. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Phytother Res. 2007 Jun 22;
Source: PubMed [TOP] |
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