OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of acupuncture at HT7 on heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy volunteers. METHODS 120 subjects were divided into four groups using a random number table. The following groups of acupuncture interventions were used: HT7 verum acupuncture; HT7 non-penetrating sham acupuncture; acupuncture at a sham point; and no acupuncture. HRV was recorded 10 min before, dur...

BACKGROUND Many acupuncture studies are of weak methodological quality, possibly due to lack of pilot testing. This pilot study tested design features, including test of feasibility, compliance to treatment and data collection, level of blinding success and the patients' potential perceived effects of the treatment, in preparation for an efficacy study. METHOD A modified single subject experi...

BACKGROUND The main objective of this study was the phytochemical characterization of four indigenous essential oils obtained from spices and their antibacterial activities against the multidrug resistant clinical and soil isolates prevalent in Pakistan, and ATCC reference strains. METHODS Chemical composition of essential oils from four Pakistani spices cumin (Cuminum cyminum), cinnamon (Cin...

BACKGROUND The effectiveness of injection therapy for low-back pain is still debatable. We compared the efficacy of local injections of the homeopathic preparation Disci/Rhus toxicodendron compositum (verum) with placebo injections and with no treatment in patients with chronic low back pain. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In a randomized controlled partly double blind multicenter trial patie...

BACKGROUND Brucellaabortus is a gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium that can cause a highly contagious disease in sheep, goats, cattle and one-humped camels. It is responsible for one of the most important zoonosis in human. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of Mentha piperita, Origanum majorana, Citrus lemon, Cinnamomum verum and Myristica fragrans essential volatile...

BACKGROUND Our aim was to assess the efficacy of a part-standardised verum acupuncture procedure, in accordance with the rules of traditional Chinese medicine, compared with that of part-standardised sham acupuncture and standard migraine prophylaxis with beta blockers, calcium-channel blockers, or antiepileptic drugs in the reduction of migraine days 26 weeks after the start of treatment. ME...

The objective of this study was to differentiate between pain-related and pain-unrelated neural responses of acupuncture at BL60 to investigate the specific effects of acupuncture. A total of 19 healthy volunteers were evaluated. fMRI was performed with sham or verum acupuncture stimulation at the left BL60 before and after local anesthesia. To investigate the relative BOLD signal effect for ea...

OBJECTIVE We aim to investigate the efficacy of acupuncture for acute migraine attacks comparing with sham acupuncture. DESIGN The study was designed as a multicenter, single-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING AND PATIENTS From March 2007 to February 2009, 150 patients were randomly allocated to verum or sham acupuncture group in a ratio of 1:1. INTERVENTIONS Every pat...

Objective. To evaluate if consumption of emesis-related care and eating capacity differed between patients receiving verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or standard care only during radiotherapy. Methods. Patients were randomized to verum (n = 100) or sham (n = 100) acupuncture (telescopic blunt sham needle) (median 12 sessions) and registered daily their consumption of antiemetics and eating ...