Sir,—For acupuncture analgesia to be developed from stimulation of an acupuncture point, an intact nervous system is required. It has been shown [1-3] that injection of local anaesthetic to the muscle beneath the acupuncture point abolishes and prevents the development of acupuncture analgesia. This abolition of acupuncture analgesia is related to the blocking of De Qi sensation. It is also acc...

To better understand the therapeutic effectiveness of acupuncture, questions about the underlying mechanisms need to be addressed. Here we describe the impact of manual stimulation by an acupuncture needle of zusanli (stomach 36 [ST36]) on analgesia in rats. The analgesic effect was more pronounced after stimulation of ST36 than after stimulation of a sham point near the acupuncture point. At t...

In order to study Sa-Ahm's underlying thoughts on the basis of Yin-Yang and the five-element theory, the 12 acupuncture meridian systems and eight extra meridian systems were investigated in detail. The clinical acupuncture points for Sa-Ahm's four-needle acupuncture technique were also reviewed. The forms of the combinations using the five Shu acupuncture points, which are based on the promoti...

Methods Adult patients diagnosed with migraine without aura who had previously not had prophylactic treatment were recruited from fi ve hospital outpatient departments. They were randomised to two groups in equal numbers: (1) the treatment group had verum acupuncture plus placebo medication and (2) the control group had sham acupuncture plus fl unarizine, a drug recommended as a fi rstline prev...

Background. The specificity of acupuncture points (acupoints) is one of the key concepts in traditional acupuncture theory, but the question of whether there is adequate scientific evidence to prove or disprove specificity has been vigorously debated in recent years. Acupoint laterality is an important aspect of acupoint specificity. Data is particularly scarce regarding the laterality of the s...

Deqi refers to the special sensation and reaction sensed mainly by both acupuncturist and patient when a needle was inserted into the acupoints and is considered to be vital to achieve acupuncture effect. For acupuncturist, it is important to judge and control Deqi in clinical practice. However, enough attention is paid to patients' feelings rather than acupuncturists' nowadays. We thus conduct...

Having modernized imaging tools for precise positioning of acupuncture points over the human body where the traditional therapeutic method is applied is essential. For that reason, we suggest a more systematic positioning method that uses X-ray computer tomographic images to precisely position acupoints. Digital Korean human data were obtained to construct three-dimensional head-skin and skull ...

BACKGROUND Due to controversially discussed results in scientific literature concerning changes of electrical skin impedance before and during acupuncture a new measurement system has been developed. METHODS The prototype measures and analyzes the electrical skin impedance computer-based and simultaneously in 48 channels within a 2.5×3.5 cm matrix. Preliminary measurements in one person were ...

1 Institute of Acupuncture, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, 16 Nanxiaojie, Dongzhimen, Beijing 100700, China 2School of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong 3Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Florida State University, 1115 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA 4Massachusetts General Hospi...

In Chinese medicine acupuncture points are treated by physical stimuli to counteract various diseases. These stimuli include mechanical stress as applied during the needle manipulation or tuina, high temperatures as applied during moxibustion, and red laser light applied during laser acupuncture. This study aimed to investigate cellular responses to stimuli that might occur in the tissue of acu...