Database of Acupuncture

Acupuncture ----a new strategy in cancer treatment

Acupuncture is an ancient form of medicine that originated in China, which has been practiced for over 2000 years. It is one of the most effective alternative medical treatments with the advantages of simple application, low cost and minimal side effects[43, 44]. Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine filiform needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain or for therapeutic purposes.[45] The word acupuncture comes from the Latin acus, "needle", and pungere, "to prick". In Standard Mandarin, 針砭 (zhēn biān) (a related word, 針灸 (zhēn jiǔ), refers to acupuncture together with moxibustion).

According to traditional Chinese medical theory, acupuncture points are situated on meridians along which qi, the vital energy, flows. There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.[46] Modern acupuncture texts present them as ideas that are useful in clinical practice.[47] According to the NIH consensus statement on acupuncture, these traditional Chinese medical concepts "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture."[46]

The earliest written record that is available about acupuncture is Huangdi Neijing (黃帝內經 or Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), which suggests acupuncture originated in China and would explain why it is most commonly associated with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Different types of acupuncture (Classical Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, Vietnamese and Korean acupuncture) are practiced and taught throughout the world.[48]

Acupuncture has been the subject of active scientific research since the late 20th century[48] but it remains controversial among Western medical researchers and clinicians.[48] Due to the invasive nature of acupuncture treatments, it is difficult to create studies that use proper scientific controls[46, 48]. Some scholarly reviews have concluded that the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment can be explained primarily through the placebo effect [49], while other studies have suggested some efficacy in the treatment of specific conditions.[48, 50] The World Health Organization published a review of controlled trials using acupuncture and concluded it was effective for the treatment of 28 conditions and there was evidence to suggest it may be effective for several dozen more. Additionally, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Medical Association (AMA) and various government reports have studied and commented on the efficacy (or lack thereof) of acupuncture. There is general agreement that acupuncture is safe when administered by well-trained practitioners using sterile needles, and that further research is appropriate.[51, 52]

Electroacupuncture ---improving body immunity in cancer patients

Electroacupuncture is a form of acupuncture in which pairs of acupuncture needles are attached to a device that generates continuous

electric pulses between them. Another term is Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS).

According to some acupuncturists, this practice augments the use of regular acupuncture, can restore health and well-being, and is particularly good for treating pain. For the most part, there is insufficient scientific evidence regarding the safety or efficacy of electroacupuncture, although there is evidence for its efficacy in treating post-chemotherapy vomiting not for acute or delayed nausea severity. The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics advises doctors to tell their patients that devices used for electroacupuncture and electro interstitial scanning "lack a scientifically plausible rationale and should be regarded as bogus."[53]

Electroacupuncture is quite similar to traditional acupuncture in that the same points are stimulated during treatment. As with traditional acupuncture, needles are inserted on specific points along the body. The needles are then attached to a device that generates continuous electric pulses using small clips. These devices are used to adjust the frequency and intensity of the impulse being delivered, depending on the condition being treated [54].

Electroacupuncture uses two needles at time so that the impulses can pass from one needle to the other. Several pairs of needles can be stimulated simultaneously, usually for no more than 30 minutes at a time."

According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, illness is caused when qi does not flow properly throughout the body. Acupuncturists determine whether qi is weak, stagnant or otherwise out of balance, which indicates the points to be stimulated. Electroacupuncture is considered to be especially useful for conditions in which there is an accumulation of qi, such as in chronic pain syndromes, or in cases where the qi is difficult to stimulate."

Electroacupuncture is also variously termed EA, electro-acupuncture or incorporated under the generic term electrotherapy. The above description does not reflect the full scope of practice nor application of electroacupuncture. While application of electrical currents to specific acupuncture points is used as an alternative to stimulating these areas of the body (instead of using manual manipulation techniques), practitioners also apply electroacupuncture using a neurophysiological model. In this approach, the same practitioners that use traditional acupuncture points, will also incorporate mapping of neuronal pathways, cutaneous and spinal distributions, to bring about a therapuetic response. In addition to pain, electroacupuncture may be used to treat musculoskeletal trauma and muscle dysfunction, over-use injuries (tendinitis or RSI), spasms and sprains.[53]

Zusanli (ST-36) ---a most useful acupuncture point

Zusanli is one of the most frequently used of all acupuncture points and is certainly the most intensively studied single point treatment in acumoxa therapy. The indications for use of this acupuncture point are many, and the claimed benefits are substantial. Many proposals for acupuncture research in

the West rely upon complex treatment protocols involving several acupuncture points; single-point acupuncture research to confirm Chinese reports is rare. If one wishes to demonstrate that acupuncture is therapeutically beneficial, and to do so with a simple treatment that is easily reproduced, needling zusanli seems most appropriate. While many acupuncturists would prefer, on the basis of their training, to administer a more complex treatment, few can deny that the proclaimed benefits of treating this point, even alone, are worthy of investigation.

There have been two main directions taken in modern clinical research with treatment at zusanli. One is the treatment of abdominal pain and spasm, usually affecting the stomach, gallbladder, or kidney. In this case, stimulation of the acupuncture point is reported to have immediate effects (within seconds or minutes) and patients often receive only one treatment.

These reports are presented first. The other is the treatment of impaired immune functions, especially deficits in leukocyte and immunoglobulin production. In this case, stimulation of the acupuncture point is carried out daily, usually for 10–14 days consecutively, and this course of therapy might be repeated (sometimes after a short break of a few days). One of the studies mentioned below combines these two areas of concern: treatment of cancer patients suffering from abdominal pain (cancer patients usually have impaired immune functions, either spontaneously or as the result of medical therapies).

Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely applied in clinical practice and is becoming more recognized worldwide. Not only do domestic medical institutions offer the full range of EA treatments, but international institutions have also done much research concerning its mechanisms. The understanding of this treatment has had tremendous breakthroughs, particularly in the areas of biochemistry, hematology, and nerve physiology.

Acupuncture has been used for pain relieving, decreasing drug side-effect, improving body immunity in cancer patients, Acupuncture point (acupoint) of ST-36 is one of the most effective points, with a wide range of effects for analgesia immunity[55, 56], homeostasis and GI disorders. ST-36 is located near the knee joint approximately 10 mm lateral to the anterior tubercle of the tibia in humans[57, 58].

Accupoint : Zusanli (ST-36)