Steven Aung

The Safety of Pediatric Acupuncture: A Systematic Review

CONTEXT: Acupuncture is increasingly used in children; however, the safety of pediatric acupuncture has yet to be reported from systematic review. OBJECTIVE: To identify adverse events (AEs) associated with needle acupuncture in children. METHODS: Eighteen databases were searched, from inception to September 2010, irrespective of language. Inclusion criteria were that the study (1) was original peer-reviewed research, (2) included children from birth to 17 years, inclusively, (3) involved needle acupuncture, and (4) included assessment of AEs in a child. Safety data were extracted from all included studies. RESULTS: Of 9537 references identified, 450 were assessed for inclusion. Twenty-eight reports were included, and searches of reference lists identified 9 additional reports (total: 37). A total of 279 AEs were identified, 146 from randomized controlled trials, 95 from cohort studies, and 38 from case reports/series. Of the AEs, 25 were serious (12 cases of thumb deformity, 5 infections, and 1 case each of cardiac rupture, pneumothorax, nerve impairment, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intestinal obstruction, hemoptysis, reversible coma, and overnight hospitalization), 1 was moderate (infection), and 253 were mild. The mild AEs included pain, bruising, bleeding, and worsening of symptoms. We calculated a mild AE incidence per patient of 168 in 1422 patients (11.8% [95% confidence interval: 10.1–13.5]). CONCLUSIONS: Of the AEs associated with pediatric needle acupuncture, a majority of them were mild in severity. Many of the serious AEs might have been caused by substandard practice. Our results support those from adult studies, which have found that acupuncture is safe when performed by appropriately trained practitioners.

Scaling of sensorimotor control in terrestrial mammals

Sensorimotor control is greatly affected by two factors—the time it takes for an animal to sense and respond to stimuli (responsiveness), and the ability of an animal to distinguish between sensory stimuli and generate graded muscle forces (resolution). Here, we demonstrate that anatomical limitations force a necessary trade-off between responsiveness and resolution with increases in animal size. To determine whether responsiveness is prioritized over resolution, or resolution over responsiveness, we studied how size influences the physiological mechanisms underlying sensorimotor control. Using both new electrophysiological experiments and existing data, we determined the maximum axonal conduction velocity (CV) in animals ranging in size from shrews to elephants. Over the 100-fold increase in leg length, CV was nearly constant, increasing proportionally with mass to the 0.04 power. As a consequence, larger animals are burdened with relatively long physiological delays, which may have broad implications for their behaviour, ecology and evolution, including constraining agility and requiring prediction to help control movements.

Is there a role for acupuncture in the symptom management of patients receiving palliative care for cancer? A pilot study of 20 patients comparing acupuncture with nurse-led supportive care

Purpose A pilot study to document changes in symptoms after acupuncture or nurse-led supportive care in patients with incurable cancer. Methods Patients receiving palliative care with estimated survival of at least 3 months were screened with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). Patients (n=20) with significant symptoms were randomised to receive weekly acupuncture or nurse-led supportive care for 4 weeks. ESAS scores were obtained before and after each treatment, and weekly for 6 weeks after treatment by telephone. Results 42 of 170 patients screened were eligible. 20 gave consent for recruitment. The compliance rate was 90% for acupuncture and 80% for nurse-led supportive care. Total symptom scores were reduced by an average of 22% after each acupuncture visit and by 14% after each supportive care visit. Compared with baseline, ESAS scores at the end of the follow-up period were reduced by 19% for the acupuncture arm and 26% for nurse-led supportive care. Conclusion Patients appear to benefit from incorporating acupuncture in the treatment of advanced incurable cancer. Acupuncture was well tolerated with no significant or unexpected side effects. Acupuncture had an immediate effect on all symptoms, whereas nurse-led supportive care had a larger impact 6 weeks after the final session. Both interventions appear helpful to this population and warrant further study.

Emission of extremely strong magnetic fields from the head and whole body during oriental breathing exercises

This article reports the result of an experiment that was designed to measure the biomagnetic field emanating from two individuals who were practising traditional Oriental Qi Gong breathing exercises. The biomagnetic field was measured with differential coils wound 80,000 turns, a magnetic needle compass and a digital electromagnetic wave detection device. It was found that an extremely strong magnetic field was emitted from the two individuals. One subject emitted a magnetic field at the level of 200-300 mT (2-3 mGauss) and the other at 0.13 mT (1.3 mGauss). In both cases, moreover, the magnetic needle compass rotated 30 degrees (this was tested 32 times). When the rotation of the needle occurred, a reproducible magnetic field of 800-1500 mT (8-15 mGauss) was indicated on the digital measuring device (this was tested 12 times). It is concluded that traditional Oriental Qi Gong breathing appears to stimulate an unusually large biomagnetic field emission.

Effectiveness of Acupuncture for the Initiation of Labour at Term: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture for the initiation of labour in women at term. METHODS A prospective pilot randomized control trial was undertaken, in which 16 pregnant women at term were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture either at sites reported to cause onset of labour or at nearby sham sites. The primary outcome assessed was the interval from initial acupuncture treatment to delivery. RESULTS There was a difference in intervention to delivery interval of 62 hours in favour of the treatment group. Furthermore, women in this group had shorter labours by a mean of 2 hours and 20 minutes. CONCLUSION The interesting results of this pilot trial warrant further investigation into the use of acupuncture for the initiation of labour in women at term.

Systematic reviews of TCM trials: how does inclusion of Chinese trials affect outcome?

Aim: Systematic reviews (SRs) are an important tool for the synthesis of research and are used to guide both research and clinical practice. Previous research suggests that changes to standard SR methodology may be warranted. The objectives of this study were to determine the value of adding Chinese‐language databases to conventional systematic review (SR) search strategies, and ii) to determine the importance of methodological validation of TCM RCTs in the conduct of SRs of two health conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and EBV‐infectious mononucleosis (mono).

Promotion of blood fluidity by inhibition of platelet adhesion using electroacupuncture stimulation.

Stress applied to rats is known to result in a quick decrease in blood fluidity. Although electrical acupuncture stimulation (ACU) attenuates stress responses, the influence of ACU on blood fluidity has not been well examined. In the present study, the effect of ACU on blood fluidity and platelet adhesion was examined using a Micro Channel Array Flow Analyzer and a laser scattering platelet aggregometer (PA-20), respectively. Male Wistar rats (7-8 weeks old) were used. ACU (1 Hz, 3-5 V), which causes slight muscle twitching, was applied to acupoints for 60 minutes/day once or on 2 consecutive days. Stimulated acupoints were as follows: ZuSanli (ST-36), Sanyinjiao (SP-6), Hegu (L-I4), Neiguan (P-6), and Shenshu (BL-23). ACU applied to ST-36, SP-6, and L-14 revealed significant increases in blood fluidity while platelet adhesion activity decreased. No significant changes were observed when ACU was applied to P-6 and BL-23. Results indicate that ACU affects blood fluidity depending on the acupoints. Blood fluidity changed with ACU within 1 day. In other words, the effect of acupuncture has an immediate effect. In addition, platelet aggregation decreased with ACU, suggesting that an increase in blood fluidity is associated with platelet aggregation ability.

Traditional Medicine in Breast Cancer Management with a Focus on the Chinese Integrative Approach

Cancer, from whatever medical perspective—north, south, east, west, African, North or South American, Asian, traditional, modern and/or synergistic—remains a poorly understood disease and illness. Disease pertains to the actual organic condition, whereas illness pertains to one’s daily experience and suffering of this invasion of one’s physical, mental and spiritual system (1). Certainly, carcinogens are involved in the disease and illness of cancer, while other biological mechanisms contribute to its initiation and progression.. Breast cancer is a leading form of cancer in women but is much less common in men. A family history of the disorder is often obtainable, just as is the case in prostate cancer that afflicts middle-aged men.

Medical acupuncture and the management of psychosomatic illness

Acupuncture is an intensive and holistic therapy that enhances the quality of life of psychosomatic patients. It helps to slow or reverse the process whereby anxiety, depression and other forms of psychological distress are transformed into physical symptomatology. This process, termed “somatisation”, is little understood in Western medicine, although it is implicated in many of the cases seen in general medical practice. Traditional Chinese medicine provides an explanation of how endogenous factors encompassing negative emotions and psychosocial stress can generate illness. This paper specifies acupuncture points and procedures to be used in managing general psychosomatic illness, as well as controlling the severe distress experienced by some psychosomatic patients.

Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Palliative and Supportive Cancer Care

Systematic reviews have identified acupoint stimulation as one of the most promising strategies currently being investigated in oncology. Cancer patients require support to cope with the disease, its symptoms, and the side effects of treatment with surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Supportive care becomes paramount in a palliative setting when curative options are no longer available. Acupuncture and moxibustion are useful when conventional therapy fails to fully support the patient, or becomes intolerable due to attendant side effects. Traditional Chinese Medicine forms the theoretical basis for these modalities, and has an accumulated wealth of experience for dealing with the symptoms experienced by cancer patients. Many acupoint prescriptions have been found helpful for centuries but remain untested in the rigorous analytical studies of modern clinical trials. Following the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement in 1997, there has been sustained interest in the investigation of acupuncture and moxibustion for cancer-related symptoms. This has resulted in good quality research for a few symptoms and provided objective documentation of the benefits of these modalities. In the main, larger well-designed studies are required to confirm the benefits of these modalities for most symptoms, as small non-randomized studies are open to bias and have reported conflicting results. However, positive results from a number of pilot and retrospective studies suggest beneficial effects of acupuncture and moxibustion.