Doubt cast on needle therapy for migraine

May 4, 2005

Hi all,

Taken from: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/uknews/news20050504.shtml#3

It is reported in the Telegraph today that new findings have cast doubt on

other studies which suggest acupuncture may be useful in treating migraines.

The research, conducted by Dr Klaus Linde at the Technische Universitat in

Munich and published in the Journal for the American Medical Association

studied information from two patient groups, one attending acupuncture and

the other attending 'fake' acupuncture treatments. It found that those in

the acupuncture group saw the number of days in which they suffered severe

to moderate headaches drop from 5.2 before treatment to 3 after, whilst

those in the fake treatment saw days drop from 5 to 2.8 days.

Can anyone get their hands on the full text research article? Please let me

know.

Kind regards

Attilio D'Alberto

Doctor of (Beijing, China)

BSc (Hons) TCM MATCM

07786198900

attiliodalberto

<http://www.attiliodalberto.com/> www.attiliodalberto.com

May 4, 2005

There are different interpretations of this study, or so it seems. The

article is being published in the May 4 issue of The Journal of the American

Medical Association. Access to the article costs 12 USD, I just saw at

http://jama.ama-assn.org/current.dtl

This is taken from another news website: webmd

com/content/article/105/107826.htm

Acupuncture May Be Useful for Migraines

Acupuncture May Have Potent Placebo Effect, Like Many Complex Medical

Procedures, Say Researchers

By Salynn Boyles

WebMD Medical News

May 3, 2005 -- Study after study has shown acupuncture to be effective in

treating a host of different ailments, but new research is raising questions

about why the ancient Chinese practice works.

Patients in the study suffering from frequent migraine headaches got better

when treated with acupuncture. But acupuncture was found to be no more

effective than so-called " sham " treatment, in which acupuncture needles were

placed in areas of the body that are not believed to be active acupuncture

points.

" The theory that acupuncture works because the needles are placed in very

specific spots hasn't been proven to be the case in this study, " researcher

Klaus Linde, MD, tells WebMD. " It may make a difference for other conditions

like osteoarthritis, but for migraines it doesn't seem to matter where the

needles are placed. "

In both groups the average number days per month with moderate to severe

headaches declined from roughly five to three.

The new study is published in the May 4 issue of The Journal of the American

Medical Association.

Ancient and Modern Theories

According to traditional Chinese belief, acupuncture targets a life force

known as qi (pronounced " chee " ), usually described as the normal functional

energy associated with all living processes. It is thought that more than

200 specific acupuncture points exist along the pathway in which this energy

must travel for good health. Imbalances in this vital life energy are said

to result in disease.

The view of Western medicine is somewhat different. Modern science professes

that acupuncture needles may stimulate nerves, altering messages from the

brain and spinal cord. Acupuncture treatment is believed to promote the

release of endorphins -- the body's natural pain relievers -- and other

neurotransmitters like serotonin.

In the newly reported study, researchers from Munich, Germany's Center for

Complementary Medicine Research randomly assigned 302 patients who suffered

from frequent migraine headaches to receive either traditional acupuncture,

sham " acupuncture, or no acupuncture at all.

Both acupuncture groups underwent 12 sessions over eight weeks, and both

groups reported the same decline in moderate or severe headache days in the

month after the treatment ended. Roughly half of all patients who received

acupuncture treatment reported at least a 50% reduction in headache days,

compared with 15% of the nonacupuncture patients.

Treatment Not a Sham

The study is not the first to find " sham " acupuncture to be as effective as

the real thing. While it is not clear why, Linde says there are probably

both physical and psychological factors involved.

It has been suggested that hands-on therapies that involve repetitive

stimuli like acupuncture and massage can alter the perception of pain.

The benefits may also be derived from the patient's belief that acupuncture

works -- the so-called " placebo effect " -- and the ritual associated with

treatment, Linde says.

Acupuncture expert Peter Wayne, PhD, says the impact of the hands-on

interaction between the patient and the acupuncture provider can't be

underestimated. Most acupuncture sessions take around 30 minutes, far longer

than the average patient sees a doctor during a routine office visit.

Wayne is research director of the New England School of Acupuncture in

Watertown, Mass.

" There are some very creative studies under way right now examining the

effect of the interaction between patients and their practitioners, " he

tells WebMD. " In conventional medicine the time spent with a doctor is

getting shorter and shorter, and we don't really understand the implications

of this. "

(Tom) Klaus Linde has a history of carefully examining why complementary

treatments work. There are many articles written by him to be found on

pubmed. We don't know at which points the so-called sham acupuncture was

performed, and how it was performed, so it's hard to say anything at this

point.

There's another German mass-scale study coming up, in which acupuncture

probably will be deemed effective, but not more effective than so-called

sham acupuncture. It's the largest study on acupuncture ever conducted (I

guess 8 or 9000 patients involved, if I remember well).

May 5, 2005

hi attilio

just to balance the result of this research, follow this link for a more

positive appraisal :

http://www.ncchta.org/project.asp?PjtId=1083

regards

jason

Chinese Medicine

Chinese MedicineOn Behalf Of

Attilio D'Alberto

04 May 2005 11:12