What’s real picture about Chinese acupuncture research?

Professor Edzard Ernst’s blog “Problems with Chinese acupuncture trials” mentioned:

Most of the studies were in Chinese, and I therefore have to trust the review-authors’ data extraction. They tell us that most trials were of very poor quality.

Not reporting adverse effects in clinical trials is a serious violation of research ethics, particularly as severe adverse effects and even deaths after acupuncture are well-documented.

Unlike Western medicine that typically treats symptoms through medication or surgery with applied knowledge of science and technology, TCM is not evidence-based, but rooted in traditions of more than 2,000 years. There is also a strong cultural component, including many ideas about the universe and human body that Chinese people take for granted, such as the five elements (water, earth, wood, fire, metal). It is difficult to explain these metaphysical ideas in the wider international community that relies heavily on Western medicine and the scientific method.

Is Chinese acupuncture research really poor quality? What’s real picture about Chinese acupuncture research?

Modern and scientific TCM evaluation system is still imperfect. In the current quality control assurance system established with medicinal materials as the core, the lack of TCM resources, limit of raw material prices and other factors lead to the mismatches between the TCM clinical needs and industrial products.Meanwhile, the lack of information sharing platforms among the central and municipal scientific research institutes has restricted the conversion of scientific and technological achievements. These factors have directly influenced the output value, revenue and profit growth of the TCM industry in Beijing.

Recently, the volume of applied research in Chinese medicine is growing rapidly and the quality is improving.There is good evidence supporting the use of some Chinese patent medicine treatments.Researchers are starting to emphasize the importance of clinical trials. Many experts including clinicians, pharmacologists, statisticians and epidemiologists are discussing and formulating clinical trial protocols for TCM.And quality control is being emphasized for the process of trials more than before.

Chinese medicine is indeed different from western medicine, while TCM is an individual therapeutic method for diseases or conditions. There should be a balance between what is ideal and what is feasible.Sham acupuncture as a control method is still immature, which is not appropriate to be taken as a standard model for acupuncture research. If the research method which takes modern medicine as the control method in Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion can be promoted, and the most effective and the most advanced methods and results which are general accepted can be taken as the control, the differences and the advantages of acupuncture-moxibustion can be discovered directly with greater value.

But, the scientist still believe something like this: “In fact there have been several thousand acupuncture studies over decades. After all of this clinical research, acupuncture has not been clearly demonstrated to be effective for any indication. In short, acupuncture does not work. It is too late to talk about acupuncture’s “potential,” as if we just need to study it more. It has been studied. It doesn’t work.Proponents, however, will continue to publish poorly conducted studies where biases and degrees of freedom can generate positive results, and more rigorous studies with negative results that they will promote none-the-less as if they were positive.For acupuncture true believers, acupuncture research is a “heads I win, tales I win” situation.”

latest case report:

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine were used to treat a 65-year-old man who had dry eye disease. He had complained of dryness and stinging sensation in his eyes for five months. His eye discomforts were frequently exacerbated in the afternoon and in air-conditioned spaces. He consulted an ophthalmologist, who made the diagnosis of dry eye disease and prescribed artificial tears. However, the patient’s feeling of tired eyes had hindered his daily activities considerably, even with the use of the artificial tears supplement.

The patient thus consulted the Chinese medicine department in a Taiwan hospital, which diagnosed his case as Kidney Yang Deficiency .

The patient went through a one-month treatment with a daily dose of Chinese herbal medicine and weekly acupuncture sessions. The stinging sensation was reduced by 60 per cent. After four-month treatment, the doctor ordered to stop on the use of artificial tears. The patient reported that he had occasional fatigued eyes in the afternoon, but his life is much better than before.

source: https://is.gd/pZzn6C

Can acupuncture really help with anxiety?

Xi jing hospital new research :A randomized, double-blind study concludes that both auricular acupuncture and body acupuncture are effective in reducing pre and post-operative anxiety. Pre and post-perative anxiety has been identified in approximately 80 percent of patients, which prompted this investigation.

The ear acupuncture group received needle stimulation at point ear Shenmen. The body acupuncture group received needle stimulation at Du20, SiShenCong, Yin Tang, Liv3, and St36. The needles were 0.25-.30 mm in diameter and ranged between 25-40 mm in length. Needle depth ranged from 0.2 cm to 0.5 cm. Acupuncture therapy was administered for a period of four weeks at two sessions per week for a total of eight acupuncture treatments. The treatment principles were to increase lucidity, tranquilize by nourishing the Heart, calm the nerves, and regulate the Qi.

There’s some evidence that acupuncture may be beneficial in treatment of anxiety.However, the review’s authors caution that more research needs to be conducted before any firm conclusions about acupuncture’s anti-anxiety effects can be drawn.
Acupuncture treatments for anxiety can use both body and auricular (ear) acupuncture. Body acupuncture points may include Heart 7, Kidney 6, and Spleen 6 to harmonize the Heart and Kidney and nourish the cooling Yin energy of these organs. In cases of excessive Heart Heat, the points Heart 8 and Heart 9 may be used to sedate the Fire within the Heart.Auricular points, such as Shenmen (Spirit Gate), can effectively reduce anxiety.
Due to the lack of science behind acupuncture’s anti-anxiety effects, the acupuncture cannot currently be recommended as a principal treatment for anxiety-related problems.you have to find a good acupuncturist first.
Women, according to countless studies, are twice as prone to anxiety as men. When pollsters call women up, they always confess to far higher levels of worry than men about everything from crime to the economy. Psychologists diagnose women with anxiety disorders two times as often as men, and research confirms—perhaps unsurprisingly—that women are significantly more inclined toward negative emotion, self-criticism, and endless rumination about problems.For people with an anxiety disorder, the overwhelming worry and fear is constant – with obsessive thoughts, feelings of panic, trouble sleeping, heart palpitations, cold or sweaty hands.
Reference:Shengjun Wu, Jie Liang, Xia Zhu, Xufeng Liu, Danmin Miao. “Comparing the treatment effectiveness of body acupuncture and auricular acupuncture in preoperative anxiety treatment.

Latest research: acupoints:

Sishencong (MHN1)
Shenmen (HT7)
Sanyinjiao (SP6)

Treatment was administered with each patient in a seated or supine position and 0.25 × 25 mm or 0.25 × 40 mm needles were utilized. Needles were manipulated for five minutes using an even technique and were retained for a total of 30 minutes. Students assigned to the scalp acupuncture group received treatments at the following acupoints:

Upper Middle Line Occiput (MS12)
Middle Line Vertex (MS5)
Middle Line Forehead (MS1)

Treatment was administered with each patient in a seated or supine position. Needles were inserted rapidly at a 10 or 15-degree angle to the scalp, to a depth of 1–1.5 cm. Needles were manipulated for five minutes using an even technique and were retained for a total of 30 minutes. For both acupuncture groups, treatment commenced four weeks prior to an examination and was conducted daily with five treatments making up one course of care. A total of four courses were administered, separated by a two-day break each time.

Source:Guo-juan Dong, Di Cao, Yue Dong, Jing Zhang, Fu-chun Wang (2018). “Scalp acupuncture for sleep disorder induced by pre-examination anxiety in undergraduates,” World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, vol. 28, pp. 156-160.