big study

July 1, 2006

Here again we see how the prepublication was totally misleading. Remember how

negative the press was on the German studies?

Pragmatic Randomized Trial Evaluating the Clinical and Economic

Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain.

Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Jun 23;.

In a randomized controlled trial plus a nonrandomized cohort, the authors

investigated the effectiveness and costs of acupuncture in addition to routine

care in the treatment of chronic low back pain and assessed whether the effects

of acupuncture differed in randomized and nonrandomized patients. In 2001,

German patients with chronic low back pain were allocated to an acupuncture

group or a no-acupuncture control group. Persons who did not consent to

randomization were included in a nonrandomized acupuncture group. All patients

were allowed to receive routine medical care in addition to study treatment.

Back function (Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire), pain, and quality of

life were assessed at baseline and after 3 and 6 months, and cost-effectiveness

was analyzed. Of 11,630 patients (mean age = 52.9 years (standard deviation,

13.7); 59% female), 1,549 were randomized to the acupuncture group and 1,544 to

the control group; 8,537 were included in the nonrandomized acupuncture group.

At 3 months, back function improved by 12.1 (standard error (SE), 0.4) to 74.5

(SE, 0.4) points in the acupuncture group and by 2.7 (SE, 0.4) to 65.1 (SE, 0.4)

points among controls (difference = 9.4 points (95% confidence interval 8.3,

10.5); p < 0.001). Nonrandomized patients had more severe symptoms at baseline

and showed improvements in back function similar to those seen in randomized

patients. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was {euro}10,526 (euros) per

quality-adjusted life year. Acupuncture plus routine care was associated with

marked clinical improvements in these patients and was relatively

cost-effective.

Oakland, CA 94609

-

Chinese Medicine

Friday, June 30, 2006 2:32 PM

Re: Bizarre New Technology

Hi Attilio,

IMO, this is a clear case of spam, and the address is that of the company

that sells the gizmo.

Life TechnologyT <lifetechnology

Date sent: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:57:06 +0100

Bizarre New Technology

I would remove that address from the List.

Best regards,

Oakland, CA 94609

-

Saturday, July 01, 2006 8:16 AM

Re: NIH Loan Repayment Programs

Good catch Todd. Any idea if any of these are non-Western Med research? A good

way to

pay for DAOM?

doug

first part of the article...

Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program

The Clinical Research LRP is a vital component of our nation's efforts to

attract health

professionals to careers in clinical research.

In exchange for a two-year commitment to your clinical research career, NIH

will repay up

to $35,000 per year of your qualified educational debt, pay an additional 39%

of the

repayments to cover your Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that

result from

these payments.

In Fiscal Year 2002, this program was restricted to researchers with NIH

grants. Since FY

2003, NIH broadened eligibility to all doctoral-level clinical researchers

with a domestic

nonprofit or U.S government (Federal, state or local) funding. To participate,

you must

conduct clinical research for 50% or more of your total level of effort for an

average of at

least 20 hours per week during each quarterly service period. That is, during

each quarter

of the two-year LRP contract period, you must conduct the required research

for a

minimum of 240 hours (based on a 12-week quarter) or 260 hours (based on a

13-week

quarter). The research must be funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S.

Government

(Federal, state or local) entity. . Also, the research must not be prohibited

by Federal law or

NIH policy. [Click here for additional eligibility criteria.]

More than 1,200 new and nearly 700 renewal applications were submitted to the

Clinical

Research LRP in FY 2005. Nearly 40 percent of the new applications and nearly

70 percent

of the renewal applications were funded. In FY 2005, more than 50 percent of

awards went

to applicants with M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degrees. Also, the majority of the

participants had

received their doctoral degrees within the past five years.

, < wrote:

>

> http://www.lrp.nih.gov/about/lrp-clinical.htm

>

> Chinese Herbs

>

July 1, 2006