Medical Acupuncture

Currently, there is no effective treatment for vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), a range of cognitive disorders that occur locally or globally, solely resulting from vascular issues in the brain. The aim of this review is to summarize the potential mechanisms involved in acupuncture treatment for VCI.

PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews/meta-analyses from the date of their inception to December 2024.

Out of 2,331 studies screened, 6 studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies suggest that acupuncture may have a positive impact on improving symptoms of VCI. The proposed mechanisms include enhancement of neuroplasticity, increased release of acetylcholine and neurotrophic factors, and inhibition of post-ischemic inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in cerebral regions, which may collectively contribute to improved cognitive function.

Overall, our findings provide a basis for future research into the effects of acupuncture on VCI.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting millions of people globally. Chronic asthma is generally resistant to steroid therapy. Acupuncture has anti-inflammatory effects and has been widely used as an adjuvant therapy for asthma. This study aims to evaluate the effects of acupuncture at Feishu (BL-13) only and BL-13 and Zusanli stomach (ST-36) on immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels of the chronic asthma mice model.

BALB/c mice were sensitized using ovalbumin (OVA) to induce a chronic asthma mouse model by injecting OVA intraperitoneally on days 0 and 14 and followed by aerosol exposure of OVA 1% three times/week for 6 weeks. The 28 mice were randomized into four groups: Control group, untreated asthma group, asthma + BL-13, and asthma + BL-13 + ST-36. For the treatment group, manual acupuncture (MA) was done three times/week for 6 weeks at BL-13 only or BL-13 and ST-36. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken to determine IgE levels.

This study found significantly lower IgE levels after MA at BL-13 (p = 0.009) and BL-13 + ST-36 (p = 0.018) compared with the control group. Acupuncture is able to stimulate sympathetic nerves, stimulating Beta-2 (β2) adrenergic receptors. Moreover, acupuncture reduces T helper-2 (Th2) cytokines and restores the balance of Th1/Th2 cytokines, which might affect the IgE level.

Acupuncture at BL-13 and BL-13 + ST-36 acupoints is able to demonstrate a lower concentration of IgE in the chronic asthma mice model.

Asthma is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease characterized by episodic airway obstruction, hyperresponsiveness, and inflammation, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, and cough. Complementary and alternative medicine, including acupuncture and moxibustion, is increasingly used to manage asthma symptoms. There is a lack of studies pertinent to lung-specific points such as BL 13 (a back shu point of the lung) and LU 9 (source point of the lung meridian). This study evaluates the impact of acupuncture and moxibustion at BL 13 and LU 9 on pulmonary function in patients with bronchial asthma.

In this single-blinded randomized controlled trial, a total of 60 participants with bronchial asthma will be recruited and randomly assigned into two groups. The study group will receive acupuncture and moxibustion at BL 13 and LU 9 for 20 min a day, 5 days a week for 2 weeks, while the control group will receive placebo acupuncture for the same period. Pulmonary function tests (PFT) and quality of life (QoL) will be assessed at baseline and after 14 days.

Acupuncture and moxibustion at BL 13 and LU 9 acupuncture points might significantly improve PFT and QoL than the placebo acupuncture points in patients with bronchial asthma.

Two weeks of acupuncture and moxibustion at BL 13 and LU 9 may improve pulmonary function and quality of life in patients with bronchial asthma. These findings may help to support the integration of these techniques into standard asthma care.

To report on our experience treating patients in an academic medical acupuncture practice in a rural setting and set the stage for future research.

Our healthcare systems electronic medical record was queried for all patients seen in the general internal medicine clinic for acupuncture since the service was first offered. Data on demographics, medical diagnoses were extracted and anonymized. Diagnoses were grouped by their ICD–10 codes. Zip code was collected to help ask the question whether distance or socioeconomic and education status had an impact on use of this service. Data was analyzed using standard descriptive and analytics methods.

A total of 200 patients over a 7 year period for a total of 1534 visits. Average number of visits was 7.75, age 66 yrs old and were 63.8 % female. The majority of patients terminal degree was High School, had a median income of $82 K and the and a median distance travel of 34 miles. The lower the terminal degree the greater distance travelled. The top three diagnostic categories were musculoskeletal, mental health and neurologic. Pain was the secondary complaint in 27.4% of cases.

Acupuncture appears to be an acceptable therapeutic option for rural patients. This is evidenced by the willingness-to-travel, the broad range of problems being addressed and the wide socioeconomic profile taking advantage of the service.

Two huge earthquakes struck Kumamoto, Japan, in April 2016, forcing residents to evacuate. Some disaster-related symptoms can be expected to improve with acupuncture and moxibustion treatment. However, there are a few reports on the main symptoms of acupuncture and moxibustion users during disasters.

To evaluate the symptom trends among evacuees who sought acupuncture and moxibustion treatment at medical clinics in shelters located at the epicenter of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.

Descriptive epidemiological study.

Acupuncture and moxibustion facilities attached to three medical clinics at the epicenter of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.

Five hundred forty-seven evacuees who visited the acupuncture and moxibustion facilities attached to three medical clinics at evacuation centers in the epicenter of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.

Acupuncture and moxibustion treatments were carried out at three facilities from May 25, 2016, to August 11, 2016.

We reviewed a questionnaire completed by acupuncture and moxibustion users and conducted descriptive analyses.

About half of the participants were aged 60 years or older and received treatment 3 weeks after the disaster. Musculoskeletal symptoms accounted for more than half of all reported symptoms across all age groups. The prevalence of fatigue and frequent urination increased between weeks 3 and 4 after the disaster.

The results show the symptoms for which victims of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes sought acupuncture and moxibustion treatment. The results also suggest what symptoms health care workers should prepare for when providing acupuncture and moxibustion treatment during disasters.

Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is defined as a diverse clinical condition wherein excessive tension on the spinal cord produces a variety of symptoms and signs. Its clinical symptoms include motor deficits, deformities of the lower extremities, lower leg sensory deficits, pain in the lower extremities, back pain, and dysuria. Current treatments mainly focus on surgical treatment to arrest the progression of the TCS. Here, we present a case where the patient’s symptoms improved significantly after the acupuncture treatment.

A 42-year-old woman was admitted to our department because of dysfunction of urination and defecation. She was diagnosed with sacral dysplasia and TCS on January 2022. After undergoing spinal cord hiatus malformation release surgery and tethered cord release surgery, she still felt difficulty urinating and defecating and also felt weakness in both lower limbs. After 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment, the patient’s TCS symptoms improved significantly.

Acupuncture may be an adjuvant therapy option for TCS.