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      A Review of Acupoint Specificity Research in China: Status Quo and Prospects

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          Abstract

          The theory of acupoint specificity is the basis for elucidating the actions of acupoints as employed in clinical practice. Acupoint specificity has become a focus of attention in international research efforts by scholars in the areas of acupuncture and moxibustion. In 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Science approved and initiated the National Basic Research Program (973 Program), one area of which was entitled Basic Research on Acupoint Specificity Based on Clinical Efficacy. Using such approaches as data mining, evidence-based medicine, clinical epidemiology, neuroimaging, molecular biology, neurophysiology, and metabolomics, fruitful research has been conducted in the form of literature research, clinical assessments, and biological studies. Acupoint specificity has been proved to exist, and it features meridian-propagated, relative, persistent, and conditional effects. Preliminarily investigations have been made into the biological basis for acupoint specificity.

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          Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomised trial.

          C Witt, B. Brinkhaus, S. Jena … (2015)
          Acupuncture is widely used by patients with chronic pain although there is little evidence of its effectiveness. We investigated the efficacy of acupuncture compared with minimal acupuncture and with no acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Patients with chronic osteoarthritis of the knee (Kellgren grade < or =2) were randomly assigned to acupuncture (n=150), minimal acupuncture (superficial needling at non-acupuncture points; n=76), or a waiting list control (n=74). Specialised physicians, in 28 outpatient centres, administered acupuncture and minimal acupuncture in 12 sessions over 8 weeks. Patients completed standard questionnaires at baseline and after 8 weeks, 26 weeks, and 52 weeks. The primary outcome was the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index at the end of week 8 (adjusted for baseline score). All main analyses were by intention to treat. 294 patients were enrolled from March 6, 2002, to January 17, 2003; eight patients were lost to follow-up after randomisation, but were included in the final analysis. The mean baseline-adjusted WOMAC index at week 8 was 26.9 (SE 1.4) in the acupuncture group, 35.8 (1.9) in the minimal acupuncture group, and 49.6 (2.0) in the waiting list group (treatment difference acupuncture vs minimal acupuncture -8.8, [95% CI -13.5 to -4.2], p=0.0002; acupuncture vs waiting list -22.7 [-27.5 to -17.9], p<0.0001). After 52 weeks the difference between the acupuncture and minimal acupuncture groups was no longer significant (p=0.08). After 8 weeks of treatment, pain and joint function are improved more with acupuncture than with minimal acupuncture or no acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. However, this benefit decreases over time.
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            Acupuncture for patients with migraine: a randomized controlled trial.

            Klaus Linde, Andrea Streng, Susanne Jürgens … (2005)
            Acupuncture is widely used to prevent migraine attacks, but the available evidence of its benefit is scarce. To investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture and with no acupuncture in patients with migraine. Three-group, randomized, controlled trial (April 2002-January 2003) involving 302 patients (88% women), mean (SD) age of 43 (11) years, with migraine headaches, based on International Headache Society criteria. Patients were treated at 18 outpatient centers in Germany. Acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or waiting list control. Acupuncture and sham acupuncture were administered by specialized physicians and consisted of 12 sessions per patient over 8 weeks. Patients completed headache diaries from 4 weeks before to 12 weeks after randomization and from week 21 to 24 after randomization. Difference in headache days of moderate or severe intensity between the 4 weeks before and weeks 9 to 12 after randomization. Between baseline and weeks 9 to 12, the mean (SD) number of days with headache of moderate or severe intensity decreased by 2.2 (2.7) days from a baseline of 5.2 (2.5) days in the acupuncture group compared with a decrease to 2.2 (2.7) days from a baseline of 5.0 (2.4) days in the sham acupuncture group, and by 0.8 (2.0) days from a baseline if 5.4 (3.0) days in the waiting list group. No difference was detected between the acupuncture and the sham acupuncture groups (0.0 days, 95% confidence interval, -0.7 to 0.7 days; P = .96) while there was a difference between the acupuncture group compared with the waiting list group (1.4 days; 95% confidence interval; 0.8-2.1 days; P<.001). The proportion of responders (reduction in headache days by at least 50%) was 51% in the acupuncture group, 53% in the sham acupuncture group, and 15% in the waiting list group. Acupuncture was no more effective than sham acupuncture in reducing migraine headaches although both interventions were more effective than a waiting list control.
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              Acupuncture modulates the limbic system and subcortical gray structures of the human brain: evidence from fMRI studies in normal subjects.

              Kathleen K.S. Hui, Jing Liu, Nikos Makris … (2000)
              Acupuncture, an ancient therapeutic technique, is emerging as an important modality of complementary medicine in the United States. The use and efficacy of acupuncture treatment are not yet widely accepted in Western scientific and medical communities. Demonstration of regionally specific, quantifiable acupuncture effects on relevant structures of the human brain would facilitate acceptance and integration of this therapeutic modality into the practice of modern medicine. Research with animal models of acupuncture indicates that many of the beneficial effects may be mediated at the subcortical level in the brain. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the effects of acupuncture in normal subjects and to provide a foundation for future studies on mechanisms of acupuncture action in therapeutic interventions. Acupuncture needle manipulation was performed at Large Intestine 4 (LI 4, Hegu) on the hand in 13 subjects [Stux, 1997]. Needle manipulation on either hand produced prominent decreases of fMRI signals in the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampus, hypothalamus, ventral tegmental area, anterior cingulate gyrus (BA 24), caudate, putamen, temporal pole, and insula in all 11 subjects who experienced acupuncture sensation. In marked contrast, signal increases were observed primarily in the somatosensory cortex. The two subjects who experienced pain instead of acupuncture sensation exhibited signal increases instead of decreases in the anterior cingulate gyrus (BA 24), caudate, putamen, anterior thalamus, and posterior insula. Superficial tactile stimulation to the same area elicited signal increases in the somatosensory cortex as expected, but no signal decreases in the deep structures. These preliminary results suggest that acupuncture needle manipulation modulates the activity of the limbic system and subcortical structures. We hypothesize that modulation of subcortical structures may be an important mechanism by which acupuncture exerts its complex multisystem effects.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
                Journal ID (publisher-id): ECAM
                Title: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM
                Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation
                ISSN (Print): 1741-427X
                ISSN (Electronic): 1741-4288
                Publication date (Print): 2012
                Publication date (Electronic): 30 October 2012
                Publication date PMC-release: 30 October 2012
                Volume: 2012
                Electronic Location Identifier: 543943
                Affiliations
                1Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan, Chengdu 610075, China
                2Foreign Languages School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan, Chengdu 610075, China
                3Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China
                Author notes

                Academic Editor: Wolfgang Schwarz

                Article
                DOI: 10.1155/2012/543943
                PMC ID: 3518822
                PubMed ID: 23243454
                SO-VID: 8e6619dd-5f9f-4425-8d8b-555f7d115b50
                Copyright © Copyright © 2012 Ling Zhao et al.
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 15 April 2012
                Date revision received : 17 September 2012
                Date accepted : 19 September 2012
                Categories
                Subject: Review Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Complementary & Alternative medicine
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Complementary & Alternative medicine

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