Acupuncture Treats Headaches

New research published in the Annals of Oncology (Oxford University Press, Oxford Journals) concludes that acupuncture is effective for relieving dry mouth caused by cancer radiation therapy. A sample size of 145 patients with chronic radiation induced xerostomia, dry mouth, was studied in a randomized investigation of acupuncture treatments compared with oral care education. The researchers noted that acupuncture was superior to oral care and produced pronounced and clinically significant results.
The researchers documented that acupuncture significantly reduced severe dry mouth, reduced issues of sticky saliva and reduced the need for patients to sip fluids to swallow food. Acupuncture also significantly reduced the need to wake up at night to drink. The researchers concluded that eight acupuncture treatments performed at a rate of one per week was superior to oral care education for the relief of xerostomia induced by cancer radiation therapy.
In a related case history published by the Medical College of Wisconsin in the Journal of Cancer Therapeutics & Research, researchers conclude that acupuncture reduces chemotherapy and radiation treatment side effects. The study demonstrated that acupuncture reduced painful swallowing and dry mouth that resulted from chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture were used. Stomach and Large Intestine Yangming channel points used in the study were: ST3, ST4, ST5, ST6, ST7, ST36, LI4 and LI11. Shaoyang, Taiyang, Taiyin, Ren and Du points were also used: SI18, SI19, GB2, GB3, SP6, GV20, CV23, CV24. Ear acupuncture points Shenmen and Point Zero were also included. Electroacupuncture was applied to ST5, ST6 and ST7 bilaterally for some acupuncture treatments and to ST3 and ST4 as well. The acupuncture needles were 15mm and 25mm in length respectively and the needle depth ranged from 0.25cm to 1cm. Electroacupuncture was set to 30Hz with an amplitude adjusted for patient tolerances.
In another related study, researchers concluded that acupuncture significantly relieves hiccups for patients with late-stage cancer. A total of thirty patients were included in the investigation. Ten improved markedly, eighteen patients demonstrated improvement and two patients did not respond to acupuncture therapy. The total effective rate for the acupuncture therapy exceeded 93 percent.
These three recent investigations suggest that acupuncture plays an important role in supporting patients with cancer. Patient comfort and bodily functions were shown to improve markedly. The amelioration of chemotherapy and radiation side effects serves to relieve suffering and improve the quality of life for cancer patients.
Reference:
Simcock, R., L. Fallowfield, K. Monson, I. Solis-Trapala, L. Parlour, C. Langridge, and V. Jenkins. "ARIX: A randomised trial of acupuncture v oral care sessions in patients with chronic xerostomia following treatment of head and neck cancer." Annals of Oncology 24, no. 3 (2013): 776-783.
Author Affiliations:
Department of Oncology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, Sussex Cancer Centre, Brighton.
Sussex Health Outcomes Research and Education in Cancer (SHORE-C), Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton.
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, UK.
Colorado, Berdale, and Hong Wu. "Acupuncture for the relief of odynophagia and xerostomia after chemoradiation therapy in oropharyngeal cancer: a case report." (2013).
Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, Volume 10, Number 2 (2012), 117-119, DOI: 10.1007/s11726-012-0585-x. Electroacupuncture combined with auricular point sticking for hiccups in late-stage cancer. Xia-ping Shao

Acupuncture Helps Cancer Patients

New research published in the Annals of Oncology (Oxford University Press, Oxford Journals) concludes that acupuncture is effective for relieving dry mouth caused by cancer radiation therapy. A sample size of 145 patients with chronic radiation induced xerostomia, dry mouth, was studied in a randomized investigation of acupuncture treatments compared with oral care education. The researchers noted that acupuncture was superior to oral care and produced pronounced and clinically significant results.
The researchers documented that acupuncture significantly reduced severe dry mouth, reduced issues of sticky saliva and reduced the need for patients to sip fluids to swallow food. Acupuncture also significantly reduced the need to wake up at night to drink. The researchers concluded that eight acupuncture treatments performed at a rate of one per week was superior to oral care education for the relief of xerostomia induced by cancer radiation therapy.
In a related case history published by the Medical College of Wisconsin in the Journal of Cancer Therapeutics & Research, researchers conclude that acupuncture reduces chemotherapy and radiation treatment side effects. The study demonstrated that acupuncture reduced painful swallowing and dry mouth that resulted from chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture were used. Stomach and Large Intestine Yangming channel points used in the study were: ST3, ST4, ST5, ST6, ST7, ST36, LI4 and LI11. Shaoyang, Taiyang, Taiyin, Ren and Du points were also used: SI18, SI19, GB2, GB3, SP6, GV20, CV23, CV24. Ear acupuncture points Shenmen and Point Zero were also included. Electroacupuncture was applied to ST5, ST6 and ST7 bilaterally for some acupuncture treatments and to ST3 and ST4 as well. The acupuncture needles were 15mm and 25mm in length respectively and the needle depth ranged from 0.25cm to 1cm. Electroacupuncture was set to 30Hz with an amplitude adjusted for patient tolerances.
In another related study, researchers concluded that acupuncture significantly relieves hiccups for patients with late-stage cancer. A total of thirty patients were included in the investigation. Ten improved markedly, eighteen patients demonstrated improvement and two patients did not respond to acupuncture therapy. The total effective rate for the acupuncture therapy exceeded 93 percent.
These three recent investigations suggest that acupuncture plays an important role in supporting patients with cancer. Patient comfort and bodily functions were shown to improve markedly. The amelioration of chemotherapy and radiation side effects serves to relieve suffering and improve the quality of life for cancer patients.
Reference:
Simcock, R., L. Fallowfield, K. Monson, I. Solis-Trapala, L. Parlour, C. Langridge, and V. Jenkins. "ARIX: A randomised trial of acupuncture v oral care sessions in patients with chronic xerostomia following treatment of head and neck cancer." Annals of Oncology 24, no. 3 (2013): 776-783.
Author Affiliations:
Department of Oncology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, Sussex Cancer Centre, Brighton.
Sussex Health Outcomes Research and Education in Cancer (SHORE-C), Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton.
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, UK.
Colorado, Berdale, and Hong Wu. "Acupuncture for the relief of odynophagia and xerostomia after chemoradiation therapy in oropharyngeal cancer: a case report." (2013).
Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, Volume 10, Number 2 (2012), 117-119, DOI: 10.1007/s11726-012-0585-x. Electroacupuncture combined with auricular point sticking for hiccups in late-stage cancer. Xia-ping Shao

Electroacupuncture Reduces Duration of Postoperative Ileus After Laparoscopic Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

Simon S. M. Ng, Wing Wa Leung, Tony W. C. Mak, Sophie S. F. Hon, Jimmy C. M. Li, Cherry Y. N. Wong, Kelvin K. F. Tsoi, and Janet F. Y. Lee (Gastroenterology. 2013;144(2):307-313).

Abstract

Background & aims: We investigated the efficacy of electroacupuncture in reducing the duration of postoperative ileus and hospital stay after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer.

Methods We performed a prospective study of 165 patients undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery for colonic and upper rectal cancer, enrolled from October 2008 to October 2010. Patients were assigned randomly to groups that received electroacupuncture (n = 55) or sham acupuncture (n = 55), once daily from postoperative days 1–4, or no acupuncture (n = 55). The acupoints Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, Hegu, and Zhigou were used. The primary outcome was time to defecation. Secondary outcomes included postoperative analgesic requirement, time to ambulation, and length of hospital stay.

Results: Patients who received electroacupuncture had a shorter time to defecation than patients who received no acupuncture (85.9 ± 36.1 vs 122.1 ± 53.5 h; P < .001) and length of hospital stay (6.5 ± 2.2 vs 8.5 ± 4.8 days; P = .007). Patients who received electroacupuncture also had a shorter time to defecation than patients who received sham acupuncture (85.9 ± 36.1 vs 107.5 ± 46.2 h; P = .007). Electroacupuncture was more effective than no or sham acupuncture in reducing postoperative analgesic requirement and time to ambulation. In multiple linear regression analysis, an absence of complications and electroacupuncture were associated with a shorter duration of postoperative ileus and hospital stay after the surgery.

Conclusions: In a clinical trial, electroacupuncture reduced the duration of postoperative ileus, time to ambulation, and postoperative analgesic requirement, compared with no or sham acupuncture, after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

The risk of developing an addiction to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs increases in the period immediately following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) but decreases over time, new research shows. The historical prospective study showed that in the short-term, individuals with mTBI had a significantly increased risk for alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence, and nondependent abuse of drugs or alcohol compared with a similarly injured non-mTBI comparison group. "Our findings suggest an increased risk for incidence of alcohol dependence, nondependent abuse of drugs or alcohol, and nicotine dependence during the first 30 days following mild TBI and a risk thereafter for alcohol dependence for at least 6 months after injury," the authors, led by Shannon C. Miller, MD, from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, write.

According to the investigators, addiction-related disorders have been linked to an increased risk for TBI caused by motor vehicle accidents and falls. However, they note, little research has assessed the reverse pattern. The investigators sought to assess possible associations between mTBI, commonly known as a concussion, and addiction-related disorders in active-duty US military personnel. The researchers used electronically recorded demographic, medical, and military data for more than one half million active-duty US Air Force service members. mTBI was identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003. According to these codes, mTBI is defined as transient confusion or disorientation, memory loss, or brief loss of consciousness. The researchers selected 5065 incident cases among airmen who were on active duty for at least 180 days between October 1, 2001, and September 30, 2008. The comparison group included 44,733 airmen who were diagnosed with an outpatient injury to the torso, spinal cord, abdomen, pelvis, digestive tract, or genitourinary tract and were designated as the "other-injured group" for the purposes of the study. Time after mTBI was divided into 3 periods: 1 to 30 days, 31 to 179 days, and longer than 180 days. The researchers found that the hazard for alcohol dependence was significantly elevated for all 3 periods in the mTBI group compared with the other-injured group. The hazard for alcohol dependence was highest in the first 30 days following a diagnosis of mTBI (hazard ratio [HR], 3.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.86 - 6.51). The likelihood of alcohol dependence decreased consistently with time. At 31 to 179 days post mTBI, the HR was 2.66 (95% CI, 1.86 - 3.81), and at 180 days or longer post mTBI, the HR was 1.70 (95% CI, 1.31 - 2.21). The pattern for nicotine dependence and nondependent abuse of drugs or alcohol was similar, with the highest HR for nicotine (HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.56 - 2.66) and for drugs or alcohol (HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.65 - 2.70) occurring within the first 30 days of mTBI. The study also showed a greater risk for opioid dependence or abuse in the 1- to 30-day period (HR, 6.14; 95% CI, 1.20 - 31.31) and also in the 31- to 179-day period (HR, 3.98; 95% CI, 1.14 - 13.93). However, these 2 HRs were based on only 3 and 4 diagnoses, respectively.Previous research has indicated that the effects of mTBI resolve quickly, but the results of the current study suggest that alcohol dependence "may be a long-lasting adverse health outcome following mild TBI," the investigators write.

"Given the increasing emphasis and awareness of mild TBI in both military and civilian populations, these findings may have far-reaching clinical and military readiness implications," the authors suggest. They add that their study has limitations, including the use of multiple ICD-9-CM codes to identify mTBI. They also suggest that the codes may not have been assigned accurately in all cases, but that the strategy of using the other-injured comparison group and the use of 3 different periods could mitigate these limitations. Dr. Miller and colleagues also caution against any cause-and-effect interpretations of the study results. "Although a causal mechanism seems biopsychosocially plausible, it is not clinically intuitive that hazard ratios would be elevated so soon after the incident mild TBI (within 30 days)," they write. They conclude that any alcohol or drug use after TBI is concerning because of the potential for reduced healing, risk for seizures and repeat TBI, and exacerbation of residual cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impairments. Further, the authors call for routine screening for addiction-related disorders after mTBI and for alcohol dependence screening to continue for at least 6 months following the injury.