Tongue Acupuncture and Depression

Tongue Acupuncture and Depression

Tongue acupuncture (TA) is a method which is rarely  applied in clinical practice. A study was conducted to investigate whether additional TA can improve the efficacy of body acupuncture (BA) in patients with depression. Twenty patients with a mean age of ± SD of 42.9 ± 11.2 years were randomly divided into two groups, one group receiving BA (Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, Neiguan, Shenting, Yintang, and Baihui) and the other receiving BA and TA (Liver, Heart, and Brain) together. The quantitative and qualitative outcome measures were heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and other clinical scores. The researchers found that in both groups all scores and HR improved significantly, whereas HRV increased partly significantly. It seems that TA can enhance acute and treatment effects of BA in patients with depression.

Xian Shi,  Huan Wang, Lu Wang,  Zengkai Zhao,  Daniela Litscher, Jingqiao Tao, Ingrid Gaischek, Zemin Sheng, and Gerhard Litscher.  Can Tongue Acupuncture Enhance Body Acupuncture? First Results from Heart Rate Variability and Clinical Scores in Patients with Depression, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2014, Article ID 329746,

Vet Acupuncture in Clinical Trial

Vancouver Vet Says Chiropractic and Acupuncture Techniques are Effective in Canine Rehabilitation

A Vancouver vet is looking to scientifically prove that use of chiropractic and acupuncture techniques can be just as effective for dogs as they are for people.

Dr. David Lane has spent the past nine years practicing those techniques on disabled dogs and says the results have been life-altering.

“There have been multiple cases where dogs have been brought in, unable to stand on a board, but about 20 minutes later they were prancing around the exam room,” says Lane.

The effectiveness of these techniques is not widely recognized by many in the veterinarian circle, but Lane is hoping to change that by conducting research that evaluates the effectiveness of these techniques for treating mobility issues.

“Vets only want to advocate something that has been scientifically proven to work. They need rigorous scientific protocol demonstrating that this does work, ” says Lane.

He is looking for about 50-60 dogs to treat who have either mobility issues or leak urine, which he claims is related to lower back pain.

In an attempt to get rid of an owner’s bias, the treatment will be blind, meaning sometimes the dogs will receive treatment and other times they will not.

The controlled experiment will start in mid-May and end after about six appointments.

Participants will receive between $350 and $500 worth of veterinary care for the project. 

Lane says one of his biggest success stories is a Clumber Spaniel named Humphrey who suffered from a malformation of the hip known as Hip Dysplasia.

This story comes from Canada's Global News.

IVF and Chinese Medicine

IVF and Chinese Herbal Medicine

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as an adjuvant therapy to improve the success when women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) is an option for infertile couples. A systematic review study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CHM with concurrent IVF versus IVF alone on the outcomes of IVF and its safety.

Twenty trials involving 1721 women were included in the meta-analysis. Three trials were evaluated as having an unclear risk of bias. The remaining trials were evaluated as having a high risk of bias. Combination of CHM and IVF significantly increases clinical pregnancy rates (OR 2.04, 95%CI 1.67 to 2.49, p<0.00001) and ongoing pregnancy rates (OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.17 to 3.10, p = 0.009). Use of CHM after embryo transfer had no better outcome in reducing the rate of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OR 0.39, 95%CI 0.14 to 1.11, p = 0.08).

This study showed that combination of IVF and CHM improve IVF success. Further large randomized placebo controlled trials are warranted to confirm these findings.

Huijuan Cao, Mei Han, Ernest H. Y. Ng, Xiaoke Wu, Andrew Flower, George Lewith, Jian-Ping Liu. Can Chinese Herbal Medicine Improve Outcomes of In Vitro Fertilization? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. PLoS One. 2013 Dec 10;8(12):e81650.

Time Magazine Reports Chinese Herbal Medicine in Cleveland Clinics

Cleveland Clinics New Medicine

At one Ohio hospital, patients get herbs as well as drugs

Lora Basch, 59, sometimes suffers from poor sleep and anxiety. She’s uncomfortable with the side effects of drugs, so she’s tried acupuncture and magnesium supplements, but with only minimal success. After years of low energy, she went a different route altogether: gui pi tang, a mix of licorice root, ginseng and ginger meant to rejuvenate the body. Three months later, the Cleveland native is finally falling asleep at night, and she has more energy during the day. “The remedy is a huge relief,” she says. “I have a more stable life.”

Though herbal therapy has been practiced in China for centuries, it is still an afterthought in the U.S., in part because pharmaceutical remedies are usually easier to obtain. Now that’s beginning to change: in January, the Cleveland Clinic opened a Chinese herbal-therapy ward. In the past three months, therapists at the clinic have seen patients suffering from chronic pain, fatigue, poor digestion, infertility and, in the case of Basch, sleep disorders. “Western medicine may not have all the answers,” says Daniel Neides, the clinic’s medical director.

A certified herbalist runs the unit under the supervision of multiple Western-trained M.D.s. Patients must be referred to the clinic by their physician, who in accordance with Ohio law must oversee their treatment for at least a year. Executives at Cleveland say the clinic is the first of its kind to be affiliated with a Western hospital. “We’re incorporating ancient knowledge into patient care,” says in-house herbalist Galina Roofener.

To read the entire report, click here.

Chinese Medicine on Fox News

Top Hospital Opens up to Chinese Herbs as Medicines

The Cleveland Clinic, one of the country's top hospitals, is a surprising venue for the dispensing of herbs, a practice that is well established in China and other Eastern countries but has yet to make inroads in the U.S. because of a lack of evidence proving their effectiveness. The herbal clinic, which opened in January, has one herbalist who sees patients on Thursdays. Patients must be referred by a doctor and will be monitored to ensure that there are no drug-herbal interactions or other complications. The herbal clinic is part of the hospital's Center for Integrative Medicine, whose offerings also include acupunture, holistic psychotherapy and massage therapy.

"Western medicine does acute care phenomenally.… But we're still struggling a bit with our chronic-care patients and this fills in that gap and can be used concurrently," says Melissa Young, an integrative medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic.

While acupuncture programs have sprouted across the U.S., there are only a handful of herbal clinics. Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern University and NorthShore University HealthSystem, affiliated with the University of Chicago, both include herbal medicine among their offerings.

Click for more from Fox News.

Chinese Herbal Medicine on Wall Street Journal

A Top Hospital Opens Up to Chinese Herbs as Medicines

Christina Lunka appeared nervous and excited as she sat in the Chinese herbal therapy center recently opened by the Cleveland Clinic.

The 49-year-old had been to many doctors seeking help for ongoing issues that included joint pain and digestive problems. Now the Kirtland, Ohio, resident was hoping to find relief through herbal remedies.

"Do you have something for inflammation?" Ms. Lunka asked herbalist Galina Roofener during a one-hour consultation.

"Absolutely," responded Ms. Roofener. "This is for pain, for digestion, for inflammation, all of the above," she said, handing Ms. Lunka a bottle with capsules of an herbal combination called Xiao Yao San, which translates as free and easy wanderer. The capsules include about eight different herbs, including licorice, mint leaf and white peony root.

"Please do not expect immediate results," said Ms. Roofener. "The first effects, three weeks. The best therapeutic potential, three months. It will be slow, tedious work."

To read the entire report on Wall Street Journal, click  here.

Acupuncture on ABC News

A Close up Look at Acupuncture for Pain

A growing number of Americans would prefer to stop popping pills and avoid going under the knife to treat a bum knee, achy lower back or sore hip. Instead, they’re turning to the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture to help ease chronic joint pain.

More than 14 million Americans have tried acupuncture, according to the most recent statistics from the National Health Interview Survey, a large ongoing study that tracks healthcare habits in the U.S. The study found that nearly six percent of Americans have allowed themselves to be pricked with dozens of slender needles to help alleviate chronic pain, up from just one percent of patients a decade ago.

“Use of acupuncture has been percolating for quite a while and it’s now becoming much more mainstream in medicine,” said Dr. Houman Danesh, director of integrative pain management at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

So mainstream in fact, that it’s one of the few so-called “complimentary” or alternative medicine approaches covered by most health insurance plans. Even the military uses auricular acupuncture, a form of acupuncture that involves gently inserting small needles into various places on the ear that correspond with pain points elsewhere on the body. 

Research studies consistently show that acupuncture can be an effective form of pain management, with some studies finding it even more effective than pain-relieving drugs or surgery. But exactly how it works remains somewhat of a mystery, Danesh admits.

To read the entire report, click here.