Acupuncture in the news » cochrane

Acupuncture for Neck Pain

Dr Vitalis Acupuncture — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Quality science supporting the acupuncture use for neck pain is catching up with the practice. A systematic review by scientists from Cochrane collaboration confirmed that acupuncture is significantly more effective than sham acupuncture for neck pain relief.
The scientists from Southern California University performed nine meta-analyses. Seven of them yielded positive results.

The systematic review was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2009 Feb 13.

Image courtesy of Crystal Writer

Schizophrenia? Use Chinese herbs!

Dr Vitalis Acupuncture — Tue, 22 May 2007 06:52:00 +0000

Researchers from Cochrane Collaboration reviewed 7 studies on use of Chinese herbs for schizophrenia:

The overall response favoured combining herbal medicine plus antipsychotic drugs vs using antipsychotic drugs alone.
Significantly fewer people getting combined treatment left the study early compared with those given antipsychotics alone.
Combined treatment group had reduced side effects (like constipation) of the anipsychotic drugs.

Conclusions?
Results suggest that combining Chinese herbal medicine with antipsychotics is beneficial.

Pregnancy back pain and pelvic pain – acupuncture and stabilising exercises

Dr Vitalis Acupuncture — Tue, 15 May 2007 00:59:00 +0000

Over two-thirds of women will experience some degree of back pain during pregnancy, and nearly a fifth suffer from pelvic pain.

Researchers from Cochrane collaboration reviewed research on various therapies available to relieve back pain during pregnancy. The researchers confirmed that stabilizing exercises and acupuncture were better than usual care alone for relieving pelvic pain. Among women with both back and pelvic pain, there was evidence that acupuncture was more effective than physical therapy.

SOURCE: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2.

Chinese herbs may ease chemotherapy

Dr Vitalis Acupuncture — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:54:00 +0000

Chinese herbal medicine can protect the immune systems of breast cancer patients and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, a group of Cochrane Collaboration scientists said yesterday.

Scientists analysed data from seven studies involving 542 women with breast cancer.

They concluded that Chinese medicines may safely reduce the immuno-suppressive side effects of powerful anti-cancer drugs.

A number of Chinese medicinal herbal mixtures and compounds are prescribed to counteract the unwanted effects of chemotherapy.

Three of the studies showed improvements to white blood cells, key elements of the immune system. Two appeared to have had a general positive effect on quality of life.

In their paper published by the Cochrane Library, the researchers said: “The results suggest that using Chinese herbs in conjunction with chemotherapy or CHM alone may be beneficial in terms of improvements in bone marrow suppression and immune system, and may improve overall state of quality of life.”

The researchers also said further trials were needed before the effects of traditional Chinese medicines on women with breast cancer could be evaluated with any confidence.

In a separate study, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that an extract of triphala, the dried and powdered fruits of three plants, caused pancreatic tumours to die in mice.

Cochrane Collaboration: DO NOT trust pharmaceuticals

Dr Vitalis Acupuncture — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 22:08:00 +0000

Money talks, and the drug industry’s dollar talks loud and clear through the pages of leading medical journals. That’s the conclusion of Peter Gøtzsche, director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen.

He compared reviews of drug studies funded by pharmaceutical companies with reviews done without pharma support. He also suggests ignoring any meta-analyses funded by drug companies.

What is Cochrane Collaboration?

The Cochrane Collaboration, is the name of a group of over 6,000 specialists in health care who review biomedical trials and results of other research.

It is building on the enthusiasm of individuals, not on the funds from big pharma.

Cochrane Collaboration is considered to be the most reliable source for evidence-based medicine.

Did Cochrane Collaboration review any controlled trials on acupuncture?

A few recent reviews of acupuncture by Cochrane found it effective for :

chronic lower back pain (compared to placebo);
idiopathic headaches;
acupuncture reduced the need of ECV for breach babies and decreased use of oxytocin before and during labour;
acupuncture may reduce back and pelvic pain in pregnancy and it is more effective than group physiotherapy for this purpose;
acupuncture may be beneficial for the management of pain during labour;
massage may be beneficial for patients with subacute and chronic non-specific low-back pain, especially when combined with exercises and education; the evidence suggests that acupuncture massage is more effective than classic massage.

Reports from Cochrane on many other conditions treated by acupuncture conclude that acupuncture requires well funded large studies. I wish there was more money in acu.

Please also note that controlled trials on acupuncture are not usually funded by pharmaceuticals and therefore are a lot likely to be unbiased