Background and aim: We have previously reported that histamine H1 receptor antagonists facilitate electroacupuncture analgesia in experimental animals. In this pilot study, we sought to determine whether the histamine H1 receptor antagonist dexchlorpheniramine (DCPA) facilitates electroacupuncture analgesia in healthy human subjects. Experimental procedure: Forty healthy subjects aged 20-30 years were randomly allocated to 1 …
Read More »
Acupuncture reduces depression, pain and the need for citalopram
Background: Depression accompanying chronic pain (CP) is one of the most common comorbid psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) combined with electroacupuncture at Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29) acupoints compared with citalopram. Methods: Sixty patients with depression and pain comorbidity were enrolled …
Read More »
Caffeine reduces the effects of electroacupuncture in pain management
Introduction: The effect of caffeine on acupuncture analgesia in humans is unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether caffeine-containing beverage intake influences the effect of electroacupuncture on static quantitative sensory testing (QST) and dynamic QST in healthy subjects. Methods: A total of 40 healthy subjects were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive …
Read More »
Electroacupuncture reduces herpes zoster pain
Introduction: Herpes zoster is caused by the reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus, which leads to acute pain that may disturb routine activities and affect patients’ quality of life. Electroacupuncture has been commonly used for treating herpetic pain in clinical treatment. However, no relevant studies have been performed to evaluate the …
Read More »
Electroacupuncture reduces pain and pregabalin use in fibromyalgia patients
Introduction: Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness that causes symptoms such as pain. In Japan, although pregabalin and duloxetine are the drugs of choice for fibromyalgia, they may be ineffective or may cause side-effects. Studies have reported on the efficacy of acupuncture against fibromyalgia. However, acupuncture is not always effective in clinical …
Read More »
Acupuncture reduces pain levels during an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
Background and aims: Severe discomfort during an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is often a stressful experience for patients undergoing the procedure. An increasing number of studies have shown that acupuncture may reduce discomfort during gastrointestinal endoscopy. A systematic review in 2004 investigated the effect of acupuncture for gastrointestinal endoscopy, but these data …
Read More »
Acupuncture reduces readmission rates to hospitals for pain relief
Objectives: The prevalence of inpatient integrative medicine (IM) consult services is increasing among academic health care institutions. The diversity of services between institutions, as well as the novel nature of such interventions, makes it challenging for health care administrators to determine the cost/benefit of adding such a program to their institution. …
Read More »
Auricular acupuncture used instead of opioids in children
Procedural analgesia with opioids is often needed during incision and drainage (I/D) of pilonidal or large abscesses in the paediatric emergency department. In response to the ongoing opioid misuse pandemic, the Joint Commission has mandated that nonpharmacologic therapies be offered to patients for pain first. Auricular acupuncture is an auricular …
Read More »
Acupuncture reduces opioid consumption in chronic pain sufferers
Objective: Given the existing evidence for the analgesic effect of acupuncture, the current study aimed to assess whether acupuncture could be feasible and manageable as an adjunctive therapy for cancer pain in a real-world hospital setting. Methods: Thirty patients in an Oncology department with moderate or severe pain were recruited and randomized …
Read More »
Acupuncture relieves combat pain in veterans
Introduction: The US Department of Defense has been training primary care providers in battlefield acupuncture, a subtype of auricular acupuncture, as an adjunct therapy for pain management. Methods: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of battlefield acupuncture for pain management in an outpatient Internal Medicine clinic …
Read More »