Yuan Hw

Does Traditional Chinese Medicine Pattern Affect Acupoint Specific Effect?Analysis of Data from a Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial for Primary Dysmenorrhea

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the importance of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pattern on an acupoint-specific effect. DESIGN This was a TCM pattern subdivision analysis of the first intervention data from a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial (ISRCTN24863192) (the main trial). SETTINGS The main trial recruited participants from six hospitals in three provinces in China. SUBJECTS Five hundred and one (501) participants diagnosed with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) were enrolled in the main trial. INTERVENTIONS The main trial randomly and equally divided participants into three treatment groups with bilateral electroacupuncture at three sites, respectively: Sanyinjiao (SP6), Xuanzhong (GB39), and an adjacent nonacupoint. Participants were diagnosed with TCM patterns before the treatment. The intervention was carried out when the visual analogue scale (VAS) score of participants menstrual pain was ≥ 40 mm on the first day of menstruation and lasted for 30 minutes. OUTCOME MEASURES The immediate improvement of pain was measured with a 100-mm VAS before the intervention, at 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 30 minutes during the intervention, and at 30 minutes after the completion of this intervention. RESULTS Three (3) TCM patterns (n=320) were eligible for analysis, including Cold and Dampness Stagnation pattern (n=184), Qi and Blood Stagnation pattern (n=84), and Qi and Blood Deficiency pattern (n=52). In Cold and Dampness Stagnation pattern, the SP6 group had a significant reduction in VAS scores compared with the GB39 group (mean difference -7.6 mm) and the nonacupoint group (mean difference -8.2 mm), respectively. There was no difference between the latter two groups. There were no group differences in VAS scores in the other two patterns. CONCLUSIONS It suggested that TCM pattern might affect acupoint specific effect on the immediate pain relief obtained for participants with PD.

Influences of Deqi on Immediate Analgesia Effect of Needling SP6 (Sanyinjiao) in Patients with Primary Dysmenorrhea in Cold and Dampness Stagnation Pattern: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Deqi, according to traditional Chinese medicine, is a specific needle sensation during the retention of needles at certain acupoints and is considered to be necessary to produce therapeutic effects from acupuncture. Although some modern researches have showed that Deqi is essential for producing acupuncture analgesia and anesthesia, the data are not enough. It is a paper of a multicenter, randomized controlled study protocol, to evaluate the influences of Deqi on acupuncture SP6 in Cold and Dampness Stagnation pattern primary dysmenorrhea patients, in terms of reducing pain and anxiety, and to find out the relationship between Deqi and the temperature changes at SP6 (Sanyinjiao) and CV4 (Guanyuan). The results of this trial will be helpful to explain the role of Deqi in acupuncture analgesia and may provide a new objective index for measuring Deqi in the future study. This trial is registered with ChiCTR-TRC-13003086.

Do changes in electrical skin resistance of acupuncture points reflect menstrual pain? A comparative study in healthy volunteers and primary dysmenorrhea patients.

Electrical skin resistance (ESR) measurements were performed with a four-electrode impedance detector at 10 points bilaterally on the first day of and the third day after menstruation in 48 healthy volunteers and 46 primary dysmenorrhea (PD) patients, to assess whether ESR changes of acupuncture points can reflect menstrual pain or not. The results showed statistical reductions in ESR imbalance ratio between left and right side that were detected at SP8 (Diji) and GB39 (Xuanzhong) (P < 0.05), and a statistical increase was detected at SP6 (Sanyinjiao) (P = 0.05) on the first day of menstruation compared with those values on the third day after menstruation in dysmenorrhea group. No significant differences were detected at other points within and between two groups (P > 0.05). This study showed that the imbalance of ESR at uterine-relevant points in PD patients is not significantly different from those of healthy women on both the 1st day of and the 3rd day after menstruation. The ESR imbalance ratio of certain points can either be lower or higher during menstruation in PD patients. The ESR property of acupuncture points needs to be investigated in further clinical trials with appropriate points, diseases, larger sample sizes, and optimal device.