Human and animal studies suggest that acupuncture produces many beneficial effects through the central nervous system. However, the neural substrates of acupuncture actions are not completely clear to date. fMRI studies at Hegu (LI4) and Zusanli (ST36) indicated that the limbic system may play an important role for acupuncture effects. To test if this finding applies to other major classical ac...

We used synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis to probe the distribution of four chemical elements in and around acupuncture points, two located in the forearm and two in the lower leg. Three of the four acupuncture points showed significantly elevated concentrations of elements Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in relation to levels in the surrounding tissue, with similar elevation ratios for Cu and Fe. The ...

The mechanisms of acupuncture remain poorly understood, but it is generally assumed that measuring the electrical conductivity at various meridians provides data representing various meridian energies. In the past, noninvasive methods have been used to stimulate the acupuncture points at meridians, such as heat, electricity, magnets, and lasers. Photoluminescent bioceramic (PLB) material has be...

The case study describes the use of acupuncture to treat pelvic girdle pain (PGP) in a 28-yearold pregnant patient. The patient was 22 weeks pregnant and reported pain in the lumbosacral area referring to the right buttock and upper thigh. She described a four-week history of gradually worsening pain. She was struggling to sleep and felt low in mood. Objectively, she had a hyperlordotic posture...

BACKGROUND Alcoholism, which is a disabling addiction disorder, is a major public health problem worldwide. The present study was designed to determine whether the application of acupuncture at the Shenmen (HT7) point suppresses voluntary alcohol consumption in addicted rats and whether this suppressive effect is potentiated by the administration of naltrexone. METHODS Rats were initially tra...

Veterinary acupuncture charts were developed based on the concept of transpositional points whereby human acupuncture maps were adapted to animal anatomy. Transpositional acupuncture points have traditionally been placed in specific locations around the horse's coronet and distal limb believed to be the closest approximation to the human distal limb points. Because the horse has a single digit ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To assess feasibility, and collect preliminary data for a subsequent randomized, sham-controlled trial to evaluate Japanese-style acupuncture for reducing chronic pelvic pain and improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adolescents with endometriosis. DESIGN Randomized, sham-controlled trial. SETTINGS Tertiary-referral hospital. PARTICIPANTS Eighteen young women...

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia is a painful neuropathic condition that is often resistant to conventional treatments. Case reports suggest that stimulation of acupuncture points may offer an alternative approach to treatment. Objective: To present 2 cases of treatment-resistant trigeminal neuralgia that responded dramatically to acupuncture therapy based on neuroanatomical point selection. De...

INTRODUCTION Our aim was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of acupuncture in comparison with intravenous (IV) sedation in extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred patients, who were scheduled for ESWL, were divided randomly into two groups of fifty patients (acupuncture and IV sedation). In the first group, acupuncture was carried out with special needl...