Course of acupuncture (akupunktur) may raise success of IVF treatment by 65%

Women who undergo IVF increase their chances of pregnancy if they are also treated with acupuncture, a new analysis suggests.

The benefits may be large — a 65 per cent increase in the chance of becoming pregnant, and a 91 per cent increase in the number of live births.

The results have emerged from a meta-analysis, a technique in which the results of many previous trials are pooled. A team led by Dr Eric Manheimer of the University of Maryland School of Medicine scanned medical literature for trials that attempted to measure the effect of acupuncture on IVF success.

They found 108 trials, but rejected all but seven because of defects of methodology — such as that acupuncture was not administered within a day of IVF or was used as a form of pain relief. The seven they retained, all published since 2002 and carried out in four Western countries, involved 1,366 women. In all the trials the women were given acupuncture immediately before or after the test-tube embryo was transferred to their wombs. All the acupuncture sessions lasted 25 to 30 minutes.

In British Medical Journal online, the team reports that almost all these trials reported positive findings. Taken together they showed a 65 per cent increase in establishment of pregnancy, an 87 per cent increase in continuing pregnancy, and a 91 per cent increase in live births.

All these results were statistically significant, measured by the criterion of odds of less than one in 20 of having come about by chance. But the team says that these figures overestimate the benefits, since success rates even without acupuncture are relatively high.

It is more realistic, the report says, to measure the results on a “number needed to treat” basis. This is the method that assesses how many women need to be treated to achieve a single extra pregnancy — and the answer is ten.

Even on this basis it is a striking result, especially as nobody has any idea why acupuncture (akupunktur) should be having this effect.

Professor Edzard Ernst of Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth said: “On the face of it these results sound fantastic. I would, however, be very cautious as much of the observed effect could be due to a placebo response. IVF may not seem to be ‘placebo-prone’ but it probably is: if women expect it to be helpful they are more relaxed which, in turn, would affect pregnancy rates.”

Success rates in IVF vary greatly from clinic to clinic, and the analysis found that where success rates were high the benefit of acupuncture (akupunktur)  was smaller and not statistically significant. That may mean that acupuncture  (akupunktur) was simply a “marker” for clinics where a lot of care is taken to see that women are calm and relaxed.

The team suggests that acupuncture (akupunktur) may influence the menstrual cycle, stimulate blood flow to the womb, or produce mood chemicals that reduce the stress response to IVF. Fra the Times.

Akupunktur og IVF. Det er vigtigt at vælge en akupunktør, der har erfaring imed barnløshed samt både akupunktur og IVF behandling så at dine IVF behandlinger forbederes og lever op til de forskelige udelandske forsøg.

Success of acupuncture and acupressure of the Pc 6 acupoint in the treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum.

Habek D, Barbir A, Habek JC, Janculiak D, Bobić-Vuković M.

Clinical Hospital Osijek, Croatia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiemetic effect of acupuncture (AP) and acupressure (APr) of the Pc 6 acupoint in pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). METHODS: A prospective, placebo-controlled trial included 36 pregnant women with HG. Two methods of acupuncture were used: bilateral manual AP of the Pc 6 (Neiguan) acupoint (group 1, n = 10) and bilateral APr of the Pc 6 acupoint (group 2, n = 11); furthermore, superficial intracutaneous placebo AP (group 3, n = and placebo APr (group 4, n = 7) was carried out. RESULTS: Anxiodepressive symptoms occurred in 9 pregnant women with HG from group 1, 8 women from group 2, 7 women from group 3, and 5 women from group 4 (p < 0.001). The average gestation age at the occurrence of HG symptoms and the beginning of treatment was 7 weeks in group 1 and 8 weeks in groups 2, 3, and 4. Four women from group 1 and 7 women from groups 2, 3, an 4 needed intravenous compensation of liquid and electrolytes. The antiemetic metoclopramide was given intravenously to 1 woman from group 1, 2 women from group 2, 6 women from group 3, and 4 women from group 4. Promethazine was given to 1 woman from group 2, 1 woman from group 3, and to 3 women from group 4. The efficiency of the HG treatment with AP of the point Pc 6 was 90%, with APr of the Pc 6 63.6%, with placebo AP 12.5%, and with placebo APr 0%. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture (p < 0.0001) and acupressure (p < 0.1) are effective, nonpharmacologic methods for the treatment of HG. acupuncture

Rejuvenation Facial Acupuncture
Everyone wants to have perfect skin, particularly minus wrinkles, laugh lines and loose skin. Now you can with natural acupuncture that has no side-effects and costs 1/10th that of a face lift. Even the famous have turned to natural Rejuvenation Facial Acupuncture, not only for treating and preventing wrinkles, but to take years off their skin and bring back the healthy glow of youth. Reportedly Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cher all turn to Facial Acupuncture weekly to keep their skin and their internal body health, perfect. Even though this is Facial Acupuncture, it really works on all the meridan points that pass through the face and head affecting all of the body health.

In Rejuvenation Facial Acupuncture the stimulation from the session brings blood to the face, which gives it a rosy glow that after a few sessions actually makes eyes brighten, the skin feels firmer, lips become plumper and blemishes vanish. Facial acupuncture stimulates the cells to lay down new collagen fibres under wrinkles, thereby filling them in. At the same time the needles relax muscles, which combats sagging in facial areas. The results are truly amazing.

Many clients have reported that their skin looks remarkably brighter and fresher, even after one session. One of our clients mentioned that at lunch following her first session, her companion wanted to know what she had been doing because her skin looked so amazing. So forget Botox and other potentially damaging treatments. Begin today and not only eliminate wrinkles, but headaches, fatigue and that craving for a cigarette all at the same time. Rejuvenation Facial Acupuncture,wrinkles

NHS to give back pain acupuncture

Back pain is exceedingly common Patients with persistent low back pain should be offered acupuncture, massages or exercises on the NHS, says guidance. It is the first time the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has explicitly backed the use of complementary therapies. The rationing watchdog said evidence suggests they help and will be cost effective if doctors stop providing less proven back services like X-rays. The move was welcomed by some charities and experts but criticised by others.

Low back pain is a very common problem affecting one in three adults in the UK each year, with an estimated 2.5 million people seeking help from their GP.

For many people the pain goes away in days or weeks. But for some, the pain can persist for a long time and become debilitating.

NICE says anyone whose pain persists for more than six weeks and up to a year should be given a choice of several treatments, because the evidence about which works best is uncertain.

Complementary therapies

In addition to painkillers and regular advice to stay active and carry on with normal activities as much as possible, patients, together with their doctor, can decide to opt one of three complementary treatments.

This includes up to eight exercise sessions or 10 sessions of acupuncture over 12 weeks, or a course of manual therapy, which includes up to nine sessions of spinal manipulation, mobilisation or massage.

Professor Peter Littlejohns, NICE Clinical and Public Health Director said NHS providers now had the opportunity to look at the services they provide and decide what changes are needed.

He said: "There is variation in current clinical practice, so this new NICE guideline means that for the first time we now have the means for a consistent national approach to managing low back pain.

"Importantly, patients whose pain is not improving should have access to a choice of different therapies including acupuncture, structured exercise and manual therapy."

Patients who fail to benefit from their first choice may be offered another of these options, he said.

If that doesn't work, they can try an intensive treatment programme combining exercise and psychological therapy.

Contentious

He said the costs to the NHS would be minimal – in the order of £77,000 – because they are offset by the savings in terms of reducing future disability and healthcare needs and moving away from treatments with little supportive evidence.

The guidelines, which apply to England and Wales, say doctors should no longer offer spinal x-rays or MRI scans or injections of therapeutic substances into the back for non-specific low back pain.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy welcomed the guidelines, as did Dr Dries Hettinga of the charity BackCare.

He said: "This offers a real choice for patients.

"This guideline will help patients understand what treatment and care can help them with their back pain and shows that there can be a positive outlook for treating this condition."

But others were critical of the recommendations.

Professor Edzard Ernst, an expert in complementary medicine, Acupuncture, at Peninsula Medical School, said he was surprised by the guidance and particularly by NICE's recommendation of spinal manipulation.

"It feels as though the panel was biased in favour of this approach thus over-rating its effectiveness and under-estimating its risks which can be considerable. In my view, a critical risk benefit analysis of the most reliable data fails to come out in favour of chiropractic.

Acupuncture – National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Acupuncture Can Lower Blood Pressure as Much as 40 Percent

Acupuncutre and blood pressure
 
The Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, dedicated to advancing patient care through education, evidence-based research and applied integrative medical therapies, today released findings that show acupuncture can help normalize blood pressure — lower pressure when it is elevated or raise pressure when it is too low — and complements treatments for cardiovascular patients. The Center found that acupuncture combined with low levels of electrical stimulation can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 40 percent.

  In treating patients at their clinics, the Center also found once-weekly 30-minute acupuncture sessions will give substantial pressure reductions of 15-25 mmHg in three to four weeks. Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old form of Chinese medicine that involves inserting needles at specific points on the body to help cure disease or relieve pain.

  "At the Samueli Center, we are dedicated to promoting the integration of ancient healing practices with modern medical treatments to help develop optimum treatment solutions for patients," said Dr. John Longhurst, director of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, acupuncture and study leader. "We believe these new findings on acupuncture and hypertension will help educate both Western and alternative medical practitioners while encouraging dialog on developing integrative treatment solutions."

  An Alternative Solution Acupuncutre and blood pressure

  Though drug therapy and healthy lifestyle changes related to diet, exercise and weight loss are typically employed to treat high blood pressure, some patients are looking for alternative solutions. "In our real world of clinical practice, we´re encountering patients who find it difficult to make these changes or who continue to have high pressure despite making real changes. They´re looking for something else, and acupuncture is a potential solution that´s relaxing and relatively painless," said Dr. Longhurst.

  Slow Onset, Prolonged Effects

  The Samueli Center´s research also found that acupuncture has a slow onset and prolonged effect. If treatments were stopped, the pressure would stay down for another month or so, and then comes back up over a period of weeks.

  How it Works

  Elevated blood pressure is due to either increased vascular constriction and stiffness, or to the heart pumping excess volume into the blood vessels. Diuretics and other antihypertensives typically help with the latter; acupuncture appears to help with the former. Other recent studies from the Susan Samueli Center indicate that acupuncture relaxes vessels mainly through action in the central nervous system.

Acupuncture and blood pressure

Acupuncture treatment for pain: systematic review of randomised clinical trials with acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and no acupuncture groups

¹ Nordic Cochrane Centre, Rigshospitalet, Department 3343, Blegdamsvej 9, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Objectives To study the analgesic effect of acupuncture and placebo acupuncture and to explore whether the type of the placebo acupuncture is associated with the estimated effect of acupuncture.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of three armed randomisedclinical trials.

Data sources Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, Biological Abstracts, and PsycLIT.

Data extraction and analysis Standardised mean differences from each trial were used to estimate the effect of acupuncture and placebo acupuncture. The different types of placebo acupuncture were ranked from 1 to 5 according to assessment of the possibility of a physiological effect, and this ranking was meta-regressed with the effect of acupuncture.

Data synthesis Thirteen trials (3025 patients) involving a variety of pain conditions were eligible. The allocation of patients was adequately concealed in eight trials. The clinicians managing the acupuncture and placebo acupuncture treatments were not blinded in any of the trials. One clearly outlying trial (70 patients) was excluded. A small difference was found betweenacupuncture and placebo acupuncture: standardised mean difference –0.17 (95% confidence interval –0.26 to –0.08), corresponding to 4 mm (2 mm to 6 mm) on a 100 mm visual analogue scale. No statistically significant heterogeneity was present (P=0.10, I²=36%). A moderate difference was found between placebo acupuncture and no acupuncture: standardised mean difference –0.42 (–0.60 to –0.23). However, considerable heterogeneity (P<0.001, I²=66%) was also found, as large trials reported both small and large effects of placebo. No association was detected between the type of placebo acupuncture and the effect of acupuncture (P=0.60).

Conclusions A small analgesic effect of acupuncture was found, which seems to lack clinical relevance and cannot be clearly distinguished from bias. Whether needling at acupuncture points, or at any site, reduces pain independently of the psychological impact of the treatment ritual is unclear.

Acupuncture from Oprah.com:

Oprah is ready to take a step toward the frontier of medicine…but she's a little scared of the whole needle part. Daniel was ready to ease her fears. "The acupuncture needles that [Daniel] is going to use would actually fit through the hole in the needle that they use to take the blood from your arm," Dr. Oz says."Acupuncture treats any condition from allergies to, obviously, pain to gastrointestinal issues—a wide range of chronic diseases, Pain," Daniel says.Oprah doesn't suffer from those particular ailments, so Daniel recommends a wellness acupuncture treatment, which will help boost Oprah's immune system. This normally requires about 10 needles, he says, and the positive effects will be felt anywhere from 20-30 minutes to days afterwards."It's really not bad," Oprah says. "It's not as bad as getting your ears pierced, I'll tell you that." acupuncture

Acupuncture could boost the chances of a woman becoming pregnant after IVF by more than half

The women who underwent acupuncture were 65 % more likely to become pregnant

The effect is so significant that just 10 women needed to combine the treatments for one to conceive who would not otherwise have done so, a study showed.

It is not clear how acupuncture affects fertility. However, IVF is extremely stressful and it could be that the relaxation involved in the therapy helps, experts said.

The findings come from a review of seven scientific trials, involving a total of 1,366 women of all ages, published in the British Medical Journal today.

The study looked at pregnancy rates among women having acupuncture around the time that the embryo was transferred to the womb during IVF.

It compared the results with those given a fake acupuncture treatment and women who had no extra therapy. Acupuncture, IVF, pregnant.

acupuncture may be a cost-effective additional therapy in IVF because it is so cheap compared with repeated cycles of fertility treatment.

One in seven couples will experience difficulty conceiving. The average cost of one cycle of IVF in Britain is about £4,000, including drugs.

Around 32,000 patients a year have IVF with about 11,000 babies born annually as a result, accounting for one per cent of births.

A previous study suggested that women having acupuncture were actually less likely to get pregnant.

However, this was based on patients who sought out the therapy on their own rather than being randomly assigned as part of a trial, meaning they were probably resorting to it because their chances of conceiving were already poor.

Prof Edzard Ernst, of the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, said: "On the face of it, these results sound fantastic. I would, however, be very cautious as much of the observed effect could be due to a placebo response.

"IVF may not seem to be 'placebo-prone' but it probably is. If women expect it to be helpful, they are more relaxed which, in turn, would affect pregnancy rates."

The research paper said if the results were largely down to a placebo effect then there would have been increased pregnancy rates among the women who thought they were receiving real acupuncture, but were actually receiving a sham therapy, where the needles were placed at random. However, this was not the case.

Acupuncture, IVF, pregnant.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor, The Telegraph

Acupuncture therapy for stroke

Acupuncture therapy for stroke-caused conditions such as paralysis, speech and swallowing problems, and depression is commonly used in the Orient. In China and Japan, an acupuncturist is likely to start therapy as soon as possible after a stroke. However, my recommendation is a delay of 2 weeks before acupuncture for strokes caused by bleeding in the brain, 10 to 20% of strokes (instead of the usual blood vessel block or clot). The wait is due to studies showing that acupuncture opens blood vessels for better flow and decreases clotting and inflammation. These effects are desired early when arteries are blocked, but after a stroke caused by bleeding has occurred, it is safer to wait until the bleeding blood vessel has clotted and is unlikely to bleed further before providing the acupuncture.

Acupuncture is done on a daily basis in China. Uncertain as to whether daily acupuncture is essential, even in Western countries, some acupuncturists with experience in treating stroke with acupuncture believe treatment 3 times a week is optimal. Several different approaches have been used to treat stroke, demonstrating that acupuncture for this disorder remains a healthcare art: Traditional Chinese Yang meridian point therapy, Chinese scalp acupuncture,

Dr. Yamamoto's YNSA Japanese scalp therapy, Korean Koryo Chim hand acupuncture, supplemental ear (auricular) acupuncture, and Xingnao KaiQiao (a newer therapy by Professor Shi Xuemin) are each advocated by a number of treatment centers in Oriental countries. One need not know in depth the approach of each, but it is important to know that more than one approach is available and used.

Does acupuncture really work to help stroke victims improve? Many studies involving thousands of patients have been published in China and Japan, and 2 of 3 studies from Scandinavia, demonstrated significant help. These studies indicate that patients get well faster, perform better in self-care, require less nursing and rehabilitation therapy, and use less healthcare dollars. However, since most studies come from China, they get little credence from the Western medical community because researchers in China do not appear to be published unless their results are highly positive, so publication bias is possible. And, no money has been made available in the United States for studies needed to confirm the claims of experts in China and Japan of indeed helping stroke patients. Such studies, if done well, demand significant funding; sources of such money are difficult to find. Most physicians, including rehabilitation experts, have appeared unwilling to consider acupuncture therapy, not due to bias but because the published studies do not necessarily meet research study criteria for the United States.

Acupuncture is a safe therapy, and my experience has taught that this is especially true when helping stroke victims. Even discomfort is generally minimal. If one compares the possible positive help to be obtained with the risks associated with acupuncture, my contention is that acupuncture is worthy to attempt for stroke therapy. Studies are needed in the United States to prove this to medical skeptics. It will be important for such studies to involve skilled acupuncturists with experience in stroke therapy.

Adding acupuncture to rehabilitation therapy obviously increases the cost; daily-to-3 times-weekly treatment is needed for 2-4 weeks or longer. Concern for added cost would perhaps disappear if the end result demonstrates more self-care and less dependence on family and health providers.

by Russ Erickson, MD, Acupuncture therapy for stroke

Ten-year-old Elena has Tourette’s Syndrome.  A year ago, her doctor said Prozac was the only way to treat her full-body tics.  Instead, she tried acupuncture, and the tics went away. 

“I don’t understand it, but it sure has worked miracles for our family,” says her mother, Beth Clark.

Eleven-year-old Megan does not like needles, so she tried acupressure, with magnets instead of needles.  It worked.  The migraines she used to get several times a week since she was five are now mostly gone.

“I used to be kinda sad and depressed, but now I’m all happy, and I feel a lot better,” Megan says.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 3 million adults and over 150,000 kids use acupuncture for relief when mainstream medicine just doesn’t work.

“A lot of people have been very skeptical,” says medical acupuncturist Dr. May Loo.  “They say ‘Oh, I’ve tried everything else, I’ve tried medication, and now I’m ready to go to surgery, but just as a last try, let me see if acupuncture is going to work’ and then acupuncture took the pain away.”

According to ancient Chinese medicine, energy, called Qi (pronounced ‘Chee’), flows through 20 channels in the body.  When the Qi gets blocked, it can cause pain.  Acupuncture is supposed to help the Qi start flowing again, which in turn relieves the pain.

“And so the person’s pain goes away.  The headache goes away.  So that’s how you know that the person is getting better.  Even though it is not being shown on, you know, an MRI scan or something like that,” says Dr. Loo.

Dr. Loo says it can work even on patients who are skeptical.  Elena’s mom agrees, “It’s working wonderfully!”

Tips for Parents

Acupuncture originated in China thousands of years ago and is today one of the most commonly used medical procedures in the world.

Practitioners of acupuncture believe there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body. 
These points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) to release chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain.  These chemicals either change the experience of pain or release other chemicals, such as hormones, that influence the body's self-regulating systems. The biochemical changes may stimulate the body's natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.

As acupuncture has become more accepted in the U.S., it is being used more often to complement “conventional” treatments.   For example, doctors may combine acupuncture and drugs to control surgery-related pain in their patients.  This combination has allowed some doctors to offer their patients complete pain relief for some procedures.  It has also have found that using acupuncture lowers the need for conventional pain-killing drugs, reduces the risk of side effects.

Acupuncture is used to treat a range of illnesses, including:

• Postoperative surgery pain, postoperative dental pain.
• Nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy.
• Sinusitis, bronchitis, asthma.
• Gastritis, ulcers, nausea, vomiting, colitis, hiccups, constipation.
• Headache, neck pain, low back pain, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy and stroke rehabilitation.
• Menstrual cramps, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, carpel tunnel syndrome, and addiction.

Research on acupuncture is inconclusive.  Some studies show acupuncture effective in relieving both chronic (long-lasting) and acute or sudden pain, but other research shows no relief at all.

Pediatric acupuncture is a very new field of treatment.  Few licensed acupuncturists specialize in children and there is little research on child acupuncture.  Laws governing required training for acupuncture vary widely from state to state.  Pediatricians counsel:

• Conventional treatments be used before trying acupuncture
• An acupuncture procedure that works in adults will not necessarily work in children

If you are looking for a licensed acupuncture practitioner, the National Institutes of Health recommends you:

• Check a practitioner's credentials.  Most states have training standards for acupuncture certification, but requirements vary from state to state

References

• National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
• American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
• NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Cosmetic acupuncture

JANE BECKER, a composer and solo pianist, celebrated her 50th birthday at the dermatologist, paying $1,500 for shots of Restylane and Botox But three months later, their wrinkle-smoothing effects wore off. So, she turned to a less-artificial youth tonic: Cosmetic acupuncture.

Like many women who have tried cosmetic acupuncture in pursuit of beauty, Ms. Becker hoped that having needles strategically inserted into her face would be cheaper and last longer than her birthday injections.

Ms. Becker, now 53, started with 10 sessions in five weeks ($1,000) and has gone for monthly maintenance since ($105 a session).

Cosmetic acupuncture didn’t end up being much of a bargain, but it pays in other ways, she said.
“I can really see a difference in my face,” said Ms. Becker, who sees Steven Sonmore, a licensed acupuncturist in Minneapolis. “It looks younger, smoother, brighter and uplifted.”

Early adopters like Ms. Becker first spread word of the virtues of a so-called acupuncture face-lift. Then before the 2005 Academy Awards, a crew of facial acupuncturists descended on Soho House, a makeshift celebrity hangout in Los Angeles, and A-listers jumped at the chance to transform their skin from the inside out.

Now, thanks to more robust marketing, cosmetic acupuncture has caught the attention of more of the wrinkled public. Its holistic approach appeals in particular to women who want to slow signs of aging, but don’t want to undergo surgery or to inject chemicals. Cosmetic acupuncture