Acupuncture in Psychiatry
By Changzhen Gong and Matthew Schoenecker
Abstract: This paper collects and reviews the most recent
clinical findings in acupuncture research for ten common psychiatric
conditions: depression; anxiety; insomnia; bipolar disorder;
obsessive-compulsive disorder; attention-deficit- hyperactivity disorder; post-traumatic
disorder; schizophrenia; autism; and substance abuse. While it demonstrates
that rigorous clinical trials and systematic reviews have been conducted on
most of these conditions, it also reveals the need for even more well-designed
research studies. The studies detailed in this paper justify a wider
application of acupuncture for psychiatric conditions, and corroborate the long
tradition of such applications in China.
The
use of acupuncture to treat psychiatric disorders is on the rise. Psychiatric
disorders are conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood,
ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. These disorders result in a
diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life. Serious psychiatric disorders include major depression,
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder,
post-traumatic-stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
These disorders can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income, and
are commonly found in every population. Experts estimate that almost a third of
people in most countries report sufficient criteria at some point in their
lives to be diagnosed with some type of psychiatric disorder.
Acupuncture
is considered a safe and effective treatment modality, and traditional Chinese
medicine teaches that acupuncture harmonizes the
body's energies. Scientific research has found that acupuncture
regulates the levels of a number of hormones and central nervous system
neuropeptides such as ACTH, beta-endorphins, serotonin, and noradrenaline, as
well as urinary levels of MHPG-sulfate, an adrenergic metabolite inversely
related to the severity of illness in schizophrenics [1]. Since the early
1970s, studies around the globe have suggested that acupuncture has a positive
and holistic effect on depressed patients, particularly when used in
combination with psychotherapy and herbal treatments. Acupuncture
has also been shown to have increasingly positive clinical effects on insomnia,
depression, and anxiety. Clinical observational studies and clinical trials on
other psychiatric conditions show increasing amounts of evidence for the
positive efficacy of acupuncture. This paper collects and compiles recent
clinical studies on acupuncture for psychiatric conditions such as depression;
anxiety; insomnia; bipolar disorder; obsessive-compulsive disorder;
attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder; post-traumatic disorder;
schizophrenia; autism; and substance abuse. These clinical studies were
conducted around the world and published in leading peer-reviewed medical
journals. While this paper demonstrates that rigorous clinical trials and
systematic reviews have been conducted on most of these conditions, it also
reveals the need for even more well-designed research studies.
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