J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Sep 6.

http://www.jcm.co.uk/research-archive/article/chinese-medicine-as-good-as-drugs-for-ulcerative-colitis-1907/

A Chinese herbal medicine containing Ku Shen (Radix Sophorae flavescentis) has been shown to be as effective as the anti-inflammatory drug mesalamine for treating ulcerative colitis (UC).

Chinese researchers enrolled 320 patients with active UC, who had a TCM diagnosis of damp-heat accumulation, in a double-blind, double-dummy, multi-centre RCT. Patients were assigned to two groups; one group received standard drug treatment with mesalamine plus a placebo herbal capsule, while the other received a placebo drug plus a capsule containing Ku Shen (Fufangkushen colon-coated capsule – FCC). The active compounds and their corresponding placebos were administrated at their recommended dosages for eight weeks.

At week 8, 72.50% of patients in the FCC group and 65.00% of patients in the mesalamine group had achieved a positive clinical response, with no statistically significance between the two groups. The proportion of patients who experienced clinical remission at week 8 was similar in both groups, as were mucosal healing rates.

BJOG. 2011 Jul;118(8):899-915).

Acupuncture is a promising treatment for premenstrual symptoms, according to a systematic review by Korean authors. Ten RCTs were included in their review. The pooled results demonstrated acupuncture to be superior to all controls. Acupuncture significantly improved symptoms when compared with sham acupuncture.

K Ried, K Stuart
Complementary Therapies in Medicine  Vol 19 issue 6 Dec. 2011

In an Australian Government-funded study, Ried and Stuart of Adelaide University reviewed 8 RCT’s and 22 smaller studies involving a total of 1851 women with poor fertility. Meta-analysis of studies involving over 1000 women found roughly double the likelihood of achieving pregnancy with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) than with western drug therapy. Over a 4 month period pregnancy rates were 60% for CHM verses 32% for drug treatment 9n=1005, odds ratio = 3.5, 95% confidence interval 2.3-5-2, p < 0.0001).

Other studies, involving over 600 women, compared CHM with IVF and revealed a mean pregnancy rate for CHM of 50% compared with 30% for IVF. The Adelaide study also provided evidence indicating that herbal treatment tailored to the specific traditional diagnosis of what was wrong with each individual’s reproductive health was a key factor in successful treatment.

The authors write: “Our meta-analyses suggest Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine to be more effective in the treatment of female infertility achieving on average a 60% pregnancy rate over 4 months compared with 30% achieved with standard western drug treatment, or IVF over 12 months.”

http://www.jcm.co.uk/drum-tower-archive/article/researchers-find-chinese-herbal-medicine-more-effective-than-modern-medicine-for-female-infertility-1875/

Effect of electroacupuncture on oocyte quality and pregnancy for patients with PCOS undergoing in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer.

Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2011 Aug;31(8):687-91.

J Orofac Pain. 2010 Winter;24(1):106-12).

Needling active myofascial trigger points (TrPs) in the jaw muscles of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) increases pain tolerance and improves jaw-opening ability, according to research carried out in Spain.

Twelve female TMD patients attended two treatment sessions on separate days and at each visit were randomly assigned to receive either deep or sham needling at the most painful point on the masseter muscle. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) over the masseter muscle TrP and the mandibular condyle and pain-free active jaw opening were assessed pre- and five minutes post-intervention. Subjects showed greater improvements in all measured outcomes when receiving deep needling compared with sham.

Neurol Sci. 2011 May;32 Suppl 1:S173-5.

Another Italian study backs up the therapeutic specificity of auricular acupuncture points used in migraine treatment. Ninety-four female migraineurs were treated during an attack. They were randomly subdivided into two groups.

In group A, tender points located in therapeutic area M (the antero-internal part of the antitragus, commonly used to treat migraine) on the same side as the pain, were needled. In group B, non-therapeutic area S (representative of the sciatic nerve, not used to treat migraine) was needled.

During treatment, there was a highly significant trend in reduction of visual analogue pain scores (VAS) in group A, whereas no significant decease was observed in group B. VAS values were significantly lower in group A than in group B at 10, 30, 60 and 120 minutes after needle insertion.

Chin J Integr Med. 2011 JUL; 17(7):505-9)

A study in China has found that the use of acupuncture can decrease levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood and synovial fluid of patines with rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Sixty-three RA patients received either electro-acupuncture (EA) or manual acupuncture (SN). Each patient received either EA or SN every other day for a course of ten treatments, and had three courses of treatment. The points used were mainly from the yang meridian and local ashi points. The study found that blood and synovial fluid levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were reduced significantly after treatment in both groups. The lowering of VDGF after treatment was more significant in the EA group that that in the SN group.

Rheumatology 2004; 43: 1085–90

A systematic review of published studies on the effect of acupuncture on lateral elbow (tennis elbow) pain has concluded that “there is strong evidence suggesting that acupuncture is effective in short-term pain relief for patients with lateral epicondyle pain”. The studies reviewed were all randomised or quasi-randomised and acupuncture was the only intervention used in the treatment group. In five of the six trials that met the criteria, acupuncture was shown to be superior to the control intervention, and four of the trials showed true acupuncture to be superior to sham or placebo interventions. In the one study which included a one-year follow-up, the benefits of acupuncture were maintained for the duration of the follow-up period.

Symptom management for irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot randomized controlled trial of acupuncture/moxibustion.

Gastroenterol Nurs. 2009 Jul-Aug;32(4):243-55

Twenty-nine patients with IBS were randomised to either individualised AcuMoxa (treatment group) or sham/placebo AcuMoxa (control group). After four weeks of twice-weekly AcuMoxa treatment, average daily abdominal pain improved significantly, whereas the control group showed minimal reduction. Intestinal gas, bloating and stool consistency composite scores showed a similar pattern of improvement.