Research Archive

Evidence supporting the use of TCM in asthma treatment in is increasing. Two American authors have reviewed promising TCM interventions for asthma and explored their mechanisms of action. Possible mechanisms at work include anti-inflammation, inhibition of airway smooth muscle contraction, and immunomodulation. One of the authors has recently presented some preliminary results from a clinical tria ...

A German study has assessed the cost-effectiveness of adjunctive acupuncture treatment for allergic rhinitis. 981 patients were randomly allocated to two groups; both received usual care, but one group additionally received ten acupuncture sessions. Quality of life and direct and indirect costs were assessed at baseline and after three months, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of acupun ...

German investigators have recorded objective measures of improvement in nasal congestion following acupuncture. Twenty-four patients with a history of nasal congestion were diagnosed according to the Heidelberg model of TCM. They were treated using either specific verum acupoints according to TCM diagnosis, or nonspecific control acupoints. Subjective (VAS - nasal congestion measured on a visual a ...

Although many Asian practitioners are happy to specialise as acupuncturists, and therefore do not prescribe herbs, there has been a tendency in the west to feel that acupuncture alone is somehow inadequate. In the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis at least, this does not seem to be the case. In a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 65 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis re ...

A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of acupuncture for the treatment of childhood persistent allergic rhinitis was carried out at a Hong Kong hospital. Patients attending the paediatric outpatient department were randomly assigned to receive either true or sham acupuncture, administered twice a week for eight weeks. There were significantly lower daily rhinitis scores and more sym ...

A systematic review of seven high quality trials evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating or preventing allergic rhinitis (AR) concludes that the evidence is mixed. Results for seasonal AR failed to show specific effects of acupuncture, while for perennial AR evidence suggests acupuncture is effective. (Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis: a systematic review. Ann Allergy Asthma Immu ...