Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

This paper presents the Acupuncture Controls gUideline for Reporting humAn Trials and Experiments (ACURATE) checklist, an extension of The Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT), which is to be used with STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) when real and sham acupuncture needles are used in a study. This checklist focuses on a clear depiction of sham needling procedures to enhance replicability and enable a precise appraisal. We encourage researchers to use ACURATE in trials and reviews involving sham acupuncture to assist in the reporting of sham acupuncture procedures and related components...

BACKGROUND: In clinics, Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture is widely considered an effective method of treating insomnia; however, there is currently limited information available regarding its possible mechanisms. Although the method of Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture possesses a unique rhythmic pattern. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we have creatively combined the traditional Chinese medicine of Ziwuliuzhu with a modern biological rhythm to investigate the internal mechanism of insomnia...

BACKGROUND: The biophysical properties of the meridian system, an important concept of traditional Chinese medicine, include low impedance, resounding voice, and high acoustic conductance, all of which are helpful for elucidating the essence of meridians. OBJECTIVES: To visualize the human pericardium meridian (PC) based on the resounding voice property of meridians. METHODS: Visualization of the PC was performed by injection of fluorescein sodium at the PC6 acupoint (Neiguan) on the PC...

BACKGROUND: Cardiorespiratory depression caused by anesthesia decreases the quality and increases the time of postoperative recovery. The acupoint Governor Vessel 26 (GV26) is a resuscitation point that can reverse this depression and can be safely used without side effects. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the stimulation and anesthetic recovery time of GV26 in bitches submitted to ovariohysterectomy (OH) under dissociative anesthesia. METHODS: As pre-anesthetic protocol, acepromazine 0...

BACKGROUND: Nausea and vomiting are among the most common medical problems during pregnancy, affecting 80% of mothers. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted as a randomized controlled experimental study to determine the effect of acupressure applied by a wristband to the pericardium 6 (PC6) point on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. METHODS: The study population consisted of 74 pregnant women between 6-14 weeks of gestation who were experiencing nausea and vomiting...

BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder. Treatment can be surgical or non-surgical. Korean Medicine, including acupuncture and pharmacopuncture, is a part of conservative treatment. Pharmacopuncture, combining acupuncture with herbal medicine, has been used for musculoskeletal disorders since the 1960s, but clinical evidence on its effectiveness is lacking. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of pharmacopuncture for rotator cuff disease...

BACKGROUND: Adhesive capsulitis is a progressive, idiopathic disorder that significantly impacts individuals̓ daily lives and increases their medical burden. Pharmacopuncture therapy, which combines acupuncture techniques with herbal medicine, involves injecting herbal extracts into specific acupoints. This study aims to determine the effectiveness and safety of pharmacopuncture therapy in comparison to physiotherapy (PT) for treating adhesive capsulitis. METHODS: This research protocol outlines a two-arm, parallel, multi-center, pragmatic randomized controlled trial...

We report a primary hemifacial spasm that started four years ago with sudden twitching of the face towards the right side. It was diagnosed as a hemifacial spasm by a neurologist and prescribed with Zeptol 100 mg 0.5 tablet BID for two weeks, followed by two sittings of Botox injection in a gap of 1 year. A year later, it reappeared more severely, driving her towards an integrative treatment modality. Ayurveda treatments including Nasya , Ksheera dhooma , internal medications, and Rasona navaneetha prayoga were administered...

BACKGROUND: Pain related to Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) is severe, negatively affecting patients' quality of life, and often resistant to conventional treatments. Abdominal Acupuncture (AA) is known to be particularly effective for pain, especially chronic and musculoskeletal pain, but it is still poorly studied and never investigated in TMD patients. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the efficacy of AA for the treatment of patients with subacute and chronic pain related to TMD and non-responding to previous conventional therapies (occlusal splint, medications, physical therapy)...

BACKGROUND: A significant amount of research has been conducted to establish the validity of acupuncture, and it has been demonstrated through animal disease model studies that acupuncture influences mitochondrial changes. However, to more accurately examine the mechanisms of acupuncture treatment effectiveness in pathological models, it is crucial to investigate changes in disease-free animals. Among various hypotheses regarding the effects of acupuncture on the body, we focused on the result that acupuncture stimulation is related to mitochondria...

BACKGROUND: Recently, Korean Medicine treatment with pharmacopuncture therapy (PPT) has been increasingly used in clinical practice to improve symptoms in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of PPT in addition to conventional Korean Medicine treatment (CKMT) for the treatment of patients with LSS, compared with CKMT alone. METHODS: This study is designed as a pragmatic, randomized, two-armed, parallel, stratified (by sex), controlled pilot trial...

BACKGROUND: Most non-penetrating sham and placebo acupuncture needles comprise a traditional pedestal for fixing the guide tube that makes these needles difficult to operate independently. We developed a simple sham acupuncture needle to overcome this problem and focused on managing the needling sensation. OBJECTIVES: To ascertain how differently participants feel sham and real needles and to evaluate whether sham needles are effective in clinical trials. METHODS: After enrolling 64 healthy volunteers who had experienced and were knowledgeable about acupuncture, the practitioner randomly used real and sham needles at four sites (bilateral LI4 and LI10) on the participants' forearms...

BACKGROUND: De qi , the needling sensation, is important in acupuncture treatment. Almost all studies believe that deep needling and manipulation could achieve a significant de qi sensation. However, relatively few studies have examined the effect of psychological factors on de qi , and those that did often reached different conclusions. OBJECTIVES: To explore the influence of psychologic factors on de qi in patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PD). METHODS: Sixty-eight PD patients with cold and dampness stagnation were randomly allocated to de qi (deep insertion using thick needles, with manipulation, n=17) and non- de qi groups (shallow insertion using thin needles, without manipulation, n=51)...

BACKGROUND: Blood lipid levels have been reported as novel biomarkers for chronic subjective tinnitus (CST), with their levels being higher in patients with CST. OBJECTIVES: This trial aimed to determine the change in lipid profile and tinnitus-related quality of life (TR-QoL) responses to 8-week acupuncture treatment in patients with CST. METHODS: Sixty obese patients with CST were randomly assigned to group A (treatment group; n = 30; mean age = 44...

Root canal treatment (RCT) employed for painful endodontic conditions like apical periodontitis and irreversible pulpitis is associated with a high incidence of postoperative pain. Pharmacological management for this purpose is effective, but not entirely free from side effects and in some cases may fail to provide adequate relief. Furthermore, concerns have been raised regarding the transmission of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) as a result of the aerosols generated and prolonged chair side time required for RCT...

A patient with bradycardia and an idioventricular rhythm was observed. According to cardiologists, there is no reliable drug treatment for bradycardia with an idioventricular rhythm; instead, the sole treatment is a pacemaker. In the course of this case, it was shown that acupuncture can restore the heart rhythm from bradycardia to normocardia, and from idioventricular with third-degree atrioventricular node block and an average heart rate of 34 BPM, to normal sinus rhythm with a heart rate of 71 BPM. Additionally, at the end of the treatment, the patient's number of episodes of ventricular extrasystole decreased 36 times (3289 versus 91 episodes)...

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture and myofascial meridians show great anatomical and clinical compatibility. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the effects of myofascial meridian stretching exercises and acupuncture in patients with low back pain. METHODS: We randomized 81 subjects with acute/subacute low back pain into three groups: an acupuncture (A) group, a myofascial meridian stretching (MMS) group, and a control (C) group. We recorded the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Roland- Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ) scores at baseline and weeks two and six...

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is a non-pharmacological therapy used clinically for mood disorders. Relief of physical symptoms with acupuncture treatment may lead to relief of depressive symptoms and improvement of quality of life (QoL). Few studies have examined the effect of acupuncture on the physical symptoms and QoL of patients with mood disorders. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of acupuncture on physical symptoms and QoL of patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD)...

Sham acupuncture should have two distinct features: first, it must be morphologically similar to verum acupuncture for blinding purposes, and second, it must not exert physiologically expected effects of verum acupuncture. While several types of sham acupuncture are currently used, there are on-going debates on which sham acupuncture can meet the criteria for being an appropriate control intervention in acupuncture research. In view of this situation, it is unreasonable to regard the use of sham acupuncture in acupuncture research as the same as the use of placebo drugs in drug research...

BACKGROUND: Electroacupuncture (EA) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine method to manage various diseases, including cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI). OBJECTIVES: We assessed the neuroprotective effects of EA and examined its mechanism in a rat model of the middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion (MCAO/R). The gait analysis was performed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects. Western blot and immunohistochemistry assays were carried out to determine the molecular mechanisms of EA...