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STATISTIC ANALYSIS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT

Authors:
  • Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine "Tong Da Tang" Skopje
  • Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine "Tong Da Tang" Skopje

Abstract and Figures

Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of the oldest healing systems on the planet which is in practice for thousands of years. If an old tradition is still used today for healing we shouldn't question its effectiveness - it's used because it is effective. This research is made as a proof, according to the answers of 55 interviewed patients who have been treated with acupuncture treatment, that the acupuncture treatment is effective in most of the cases. Patients were given to answer a questionnaire with 12 questions. Patients were with different diagnosis and level of pain, but main three were: musculoskeletal pain, autoimmune and neurological diseases. In this research are included 7 male and 43 female patients, from 20 to 70 years of age. All of them had acupuncture treatment in our clinic. 42.31% or 22 patients reported that the symptoms totally disappeared, 51.92% - 27 patients said that the pain is almost gone and only 5.77% - 3 patients didn’t have any improvement so far. Acupuncture as part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine is very often used in variety of conditions and is pretty effective treatment, which gives positive results and helps the body naturally to heal on its own
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International Journal of Current
Medical and Pharmaceutical
Research
Available Online at http://www.journalcmpr.com
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/23956429.ijcmpr20170066
RESEARCH ARTICLE
STATISTIC ANALYSIS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT
Jihe Zhu1., Blagica Arsovska2 and Kristina Kozovska3
1, 3Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev – Shtip,
Republic of Macedonia
2Institutes of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics – Skopje,
Republic of Macedonia
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of the oldest healing systems on the planet which is in practice
for thousands of years. If an old tradition is still used today for healing we shouldn't question its
effectiveness - it's used because it is effective. This research is made as a proof, according to the
answers of 55 interviewed patients who have been treated with acupuncture treatment, that the
acupuncture treatment is effective in most of the cases. Patients were given to answer a questionnaire
with 12 questions. Patients were with different diagnosis and level of pain, but main three were:
musculoskeletal pain, autoimmune and neurological diseases. In this research are included 7 male and
43 female patients, from 20 to 70 years of age. All of them had acupuncture treatment in our clinic.
42.31% or 22 patients reported that the symptoms totally disappeared, 51.92% - 27 patients said that
the pain is almost gone and only 5.77% - 3 patients didn’t have any improvement so far. Acupuncture
as part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine is very often used in variety of conditions and is pretty
effective treatment, which gives positive results and helps the body naturally to heal on its own.
Copyright © 2017 Jihe Zhu., Blagica Arsovska and Kristina Kozovska. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
INTRODUCTION
Acupuncture as part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM) originates from China, but now it is used worldwide
because of its benefits and proofs of its effectiveness.
Acupuncture is probably the most important component
procedure in the TCM, which is used in variety of diseases, for
treatment and prevention, by puncturing with fine sterile
needle on certain points located on the meridians on the body
where the energy flows. [1] According to the TCM theory the
disease appears as a results of internal imbalance of the energy
and Yin Yang and if there are some blockages in the energy
flow. The aim of the treatment is to balance the energy, to
regulate the flow of the energy and Blood, to harmonize the
whole well-being, help the body heal naturally, remove the
pain and all the symptoms, restore the balance of the body,
boost the immune system and etc. [2-4] Traditional Chinese
Medicine is way more older than the Western Medicine. Their
approach to the illness is totally different as they come from
different philosophical theories. The Western medicine uses
drugs, tablets, chemicals and the TCM uses only natural
products for healing. In TCM theory meridians are seen as
pathways where the energy freely flows and on those certain
places are inserted the acupuncture needles, while the Western
medicine sees these places as where muscles, nerves and
connective tissue are stimulated. [5] TCM approaches to the
patients individually, doctors treat every patients in a different
way taking into consideration the whole well being, as every
patient is different from another, but the Western medicine
treats two patients in the same way, considering only the
obvious symptoms. Sometimes the treatment with TCM take
more time, but the aim is no to intoxicate the organism, but in
the most natural way to help the body to heal with its own
ability. [6] The aim of this research is to show that acupuncture
treatment as part of the TCM, can help in correction of many
disharmonies and imbalances in the flow of the Qi energy in
the body. [7]
MATERIAL AND METHODS
In this research participated 55 patients, who answered on 12
questions about their experience with the acupuncture
treatments. Each answer has been analyzed and has
contributed to get clear view on the effectiveness of
acupuncture treatment. All the patients had acupuncture
treatment in a clinic for TCM and acupuncture in Skopje,
Macedonia by a doctor specialist in acupuncture. All of them
are in our base o patients in the clinic. In the treatments were
used cold sterile needles for one use (normal acupuncture) or
hot needles (fire needle acupuncture). Duration of the
treatment with normal acupuncture was 30-45 minutes and
Key words:
acupuncture, treatment, traditional
Chinese medicine, diseases, pain
Article History:
Received 15th February, 2017
Received in revised form 28th
March, 2017
Accepted 26th April, 2017
Published online 28th May, 2017
ISSN: 2395-6429
International Journal Of Current Medical And Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 3, Issue, 05, pp. 1689-1692, May, 2017
1690
with fire needle acupuncutre 5-10 minutes. In conditions with
inflammation and musculoskeletal disorders we usually use
fire needle acupuncture. Our protocol for treatments is one
treatment every week, in a series of 10 treatments and pause of
one month. if the patients feels better after three treatments we
stop the treatment. In some severe and chronic cases are
needed more than 50 treatments. Each of the surveyed patient
needed different number of treatments, but some of them have
made just a few and immediately had results. Usually the
patients who made fire needle acupuncture treatment get better
and faster results, because the pain physically is removed from
the body and the blockages from the treated area are
eliminated immediately. The survey was made online using the
application Smart Survey, including questions for factors such
as age, gender, disease, symptoms, number of treatments, the
kind of pain, pain scale etc. The patients were chosen random.
All of them have done acupuncture treatments in our clinic for
TCM.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Our surveyed patients have answered on 12 questions that we
have formulated and established in a very simple way for them
so they can easily express and describe their condition and
experience with acupuncture treatment. Following are shown
and explained the results from all the question.
Q1. Gender
According to this parameter on the questions of the survey
answered 48 female (87, 27%) and 7 male (12, 73%) patients.
Q2. AGE
There are 7 groups of patient by the age. The younger group of
age is from 20 to 30 years old including 30, 91% or 17
patients. Most common age group is from 30 to 40 years old
with 38, 18% or 21 patients. The numbers indicate that in our
clinic those who mostly need acupuncture treatment are
patients from 30 to 40 years old. On table 1 are shown the
results and the age groups.
Q3. There are various answers about what was the primary
reason for seeking acupuncture treatment, but the most of the
respondents have decided to do the treatment because of pain
(acute or chronic) in local parts of the body. In table 2 are
shown the reasons why the patients came to the clinic and the
number of patients in each group. Before starting the
treatments some patients complained of extreme pain and
during the procedures they said that the pain and the symptoms
were slowly going down and also could confirm general
health improvements. Тhe most common symptoms that the
patients had were pain, limited movement, loss of balance,
nausea, redness ect. In some particular movments, acts and
parts of the day these symptoms were even stronger than usual.
Also after hard working, weather change, improper body
posture the patients had dificulites in performing normal daily
activities. The results from the patients answers show that with
acupuncture, rest, massage, warm food and drinks their
situation became better.
Q4. Of all the symptoms present, the most common is the
pain - 34 people or 61,82%. Some of the patients were unable
to sleep because of severe pain, others couldn’t move properly
and many other patient were taking too much tablets to calm
the pain. After the treatments the pain and all the symptom that
patients complained about before were gone or almost
gone.On graphic 1 is shown which symptoms were present.
Q5. Do something makes symptoms worse and what?
29 Patients or 46,30% said that nothing worsen the symptoms
and they are always with the same intensity. Other 25 patients
or 53,70% answered that the stress, hard work, cold, tiredness,
improper position of the body are the reasonses for worsened
symptoms.
Q6. Do something relieves the symptoms and what?
The majority of the respondents - 35 patient or 70% said that
with good combination of taking rest, carefully chosen food
and clothes, also with acupuncture, massage and exercise the
symptoms relieve a little bit. The other 30% or 15 patients
answered that nothing helps with the symptoms. 5 patients
didn't give an answer this question.
Q7. Have you used medications during your acupuncture
treatment?
Only a small percentage of patients used medications during
the acupuncture treatments - 32, 08% or 17 patients. Those
who used medications, usually used Dicloduo (a nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drug) for pain. 67.92% or 36 patients didn't
use any medications during the therapies.
Q8. How many acupuncture treatments have you done?
Each patient responded in a different way and at a different
rate, and the effects are cumulative with pain relief often
increasing as treatment progresses. Generally, people come
once a week for a treatment. In many acute conditions, initially
the treatment can be 2-3 times a week, or once a week for
Table.1 Age groups and number of patients in each group
Age n. of patients Response percent
< 20 0 0.00%
20-30 17 30.91%
30-40 21 38,18%
40-50 9 16,36%
50-60 5 9,09%
60-70 2 3,64%
>70 1 1,82%
Table 2 Reasons of starting acupuncture treatment and
number of patients in each group
Response Percent
Response Total
Pain 49,09 % 27
Autoimmune disease 10,91 % 6
Hormonal imbalance 12,73 % 7
Respiratory system diseases
5,45 % 3
Digestive system diseases 3,64 % 2
Urinary system disorders 0 % 0
Infectious disease 0 % 0
Skin diseases 1,82 % 1
Neurologic diseases 18,18 % 10
Other 27,27 % 15
Graphic 1 Symptoms and number of patients in each group
pain
• 61,82%
• 34
anxiety
• 25,45%
• 14
tiredness
• 25,45%
• 14
limited
movements
• 21,82%
• 12
vertigo
• 21,82%
• 12
International Journal Of Current Medical And Pharmaceutical Research
chronic conditions. In our survey 27, 78%
-
from one t
o five therapies and the symptoms were almost of
totally gone. 25, 93% (1
4 patients) made from 5 to 10,
(13 patients) needed more than 30 therapies to relief pain and
7, 41% (4 patients ) have made from 10-
15, 15
therapies. The results
are shown on graphic 2.
Q9. Which description best describes your pain? (If pain is
present)
The pain can be expressed in different ways and form, like dull
ache, tensile, pressure and etc.
We gave the patients 10
possible answers to choose which pain most resonates to
theirs. Patients were given the choice to choose multiple
answers. In the survey 27,
78% or 15 patient had pain like dull
ache and with the same percentage patients that feel t
pain, 20.37% or 11 patient said that their pain is acute and
other 11 patients with pressure. Pulsating pain and tingling is
present in 9 patient or 16,
67 %. There are patient that had
constant pain with 24,
07% or 13 people, and 9,
the
patient had prickling pain. 8 patients or 14,
no pain and 3,
70% or 2 patient have different type of pain. On
table 3 are shown the answers from the patients.
Q10. Pain before therapy and Q11. Pain after therapy
show that the pain level before and after the therapies is totally
different. For these questions
was used categorical numerical
rating scale from 1 to 10, 1 - no pain, 10 -
severe pain. Before
the therapies 29,
17% (17 patients) said that their pain degree
on the categorical numerical rating scale from 1 to 10 is 10 and
after the therapies the biggest pain on the scale was 6 and 7
with only 2, 17% - 1 patient. 8,
70 % (4 patient) said that have
pain degree 5 and 10,
87% (5 patients) reported pain degree 3
and 4. Most of the patient after the therapies didn't have pain
34,
78% (16 patients) and pain degree 2 with 28,
patients
). On table 4 are shown the results from the answers of
the patients.
Graphic 2
24.07%
27.78%
25.93%
7.41%
< 30
from 1 fo 5
from 5 to 10
10-
15;15
Table 3
Type of pain and number of patients in each group
Type of pain Response Percent
Response Total
Dull ache 27.78%
Acute pain
20.37%
Pulsating 16.67%
Tensile
27.78%
Constant 24.07%
Tingling
16.67%
Prickling
9.26%
Pressure
20.37%
No pain
14.81%
Other 3.70%
International Journal Of Current Medical And Pharmaceutical Research
, Vol. 3, Issue, 05, pp.
1689
1691
-
15 patients made
o five therapies and the symptoms were almost of
4 patients) made from 5 to 10,
24, 07%
(13 patients) needed more than 30 therapies to relief pain and
15, 15
-20 and 20-30
are shown on graphic 2.
Q9. Which description best describes your pain? (If pain is
The pain can be expressed in different ways and form, like dull
We gave the patients 10
possible answers to choose which pain most resonates to
theirs. Patients were given the choice to choose multiple
78% or 15 patient had pain like dull
ache and with the same percentage patients that feel t
ensile
pain, 20.37% or 11 patient said that their pain is acute and
other 11 patients with pressure. Pulsating pain and tingling is
67 %. There are patient that had
07% or 13 people, and 9,
26% or 5 of
patient had prickling pain. 8 patients or 14,
81% reported
70% or 2 patient have different type of pain. On
table 3 are shown the answers from the patients.
Q10. Pain before therapy and Q11. Pain after therapy
- Results
show that the pain level before and after the therapies is totally
was used categorical numerical
severe pain. Before
17% (17 patients) said that their pain degree
on the categorical numerical rating scale from 1 to 10 is 10 and
after the therapies the biggest pain on the scale was 6 and 7
70 % (4 patient) said that have
87% (5 patients) reported pain degree 3
and 4. Most of the patient after the therapies didn't have pain
-
78% (16 patients) and pain degree 2 with 28,
26% (13
). On table 4 are shown the results from the answers of
Q12. After finishing the needed number of treatments (after
they felt better or finished the series of 10 treatments) 42,
of the patients or 22 reported that the symptoms totally
disappeared, 51.92% (27 patients) said that the pain is almost
gone and only 5.77% or 3 patients didn't have any
improvement.
Scientific trials and analysis around the world have proved the
positive effects to the human health of the acupuncture
treatment. Acupuncture helps in a natural way to cure a variety
of
conditions without toxins and unpleasant negative side
effects, for children and adults, for acute or chronic situation.
There are examples where only the acupuncture treatment
helped to reduce some kind of pain, without doing any other
therapy. According
to the results that have been processed by
this survey we can conclude that acupuncture is a pretty
effective method and safely treats a wide range of common
health problems, including musculoskeletal pain, neurologic
and autoimmune diseases. [3] [8
the 5000 year old TCM is pretty effective in the treatment of
different kind of disorders and pain, thus can give positive
permanent results and improve the health condition of patients.
References
1.
Beijing College of Traditional
Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture; Foreign Languages
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Wilkinson J; Acupuncture in pain management;
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Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K, Nikolovska K;
Acupuncture in the treatme
Scientific and Innovative Research
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Arranz L, Guayerbas N, Siboni L, De la Fuente M;
Effect of acupuncture treatment on the immune
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Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K; Fire Needle
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Number of acupuncture treatment done
< 30
from 1 fo 5
from 5 to 10
15;15
-20;20-30
Type of pain and number of patients in each group
Response Total
15
11
9
15
13
9
5
11
8
2
Table 4
Pain before and after the treatments
Pain before therapies (%)
1 10.42
2 0.00
3 8.33
4 4.17
5 6.25
6 8.33
7 4.17
8 16.67
9 12.50
10
29.17
1689
-1692, May, 2017
Q12. After finishing the needed number of treatments (after
they felt better or finished the series of 10 treatments) 42,
31%
of the patients or 22 reported that the symptoms totally
disappeared, 51.92% (27 patients) said that the pain is almost
gone and only 5.77% or 3 patients didn't have any
Scientific trials and analysis around the world have proved the
positive effects to the human health of the acupuncture
treatment. Acupuncture helps in a natural way to cure a variety
conditions without toxins and unpleasant negative side
effects, for children and adults, for acute or chronic situation.
There are examples where only the acupuncture treatment
helped to reduce some kind of pain, without doing any other
to the results that have been processed by
this survey we can conclude that acupuncture is a pretty
effective method and safely treats a wide range of common
health problems, including musculoskeletal pain, neurologic
and autoimmune diseases. [3] [8
-12] Acupuncture as part of
the 5000 year old TCM is pretty effective in the treatment of
different kind of disorders and pain, thus can give positive
permanent results and improve the health condition of patients.
Beijing College of Traditional
Chinese Medicine;
Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture; Foreign Languages
Wilkinson J; Acupuncture in pain management;
Contin
Educ Anaesth Crit Care Pain
(2007) 7 (4): 135-138
Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K, Nikolovska K;
Acupuncture in the treatme
nt of pain; Journal of
Scientific and Innovative Research
2017; 6(1): 16-18
Arranz L, Guayerbas N, Siboni L, De la Fuente M;
Effect of acupuncture treatment on the immune
function impairment found in anxious women;
Am J
2007;35(1):35
-51
t C; Acupuncture: How Does Acupuncture
Work?; 2016 [www.medicalnewstoday.com]
Feleke Y; Chinese Medicine vs Western Medicine;
2016 [www.amcollege.edu]
Wang C; Differences in Diagnosis: Chinese Medicine
vs Western Medicine; 2017 [www.amcollege.edu
A; Cronin M.A., Maschino M.A.;
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Individual Patient Data
Arch Intern Med
. 2012;172(19):1444-
Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K; Acupuncture
Treatment for Migraine;
International Journal of
Advanced Ayurveda, Yoga,
Unani, Siddha and
2017, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 348
-350;
Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K; Fire Needle
Acupuncture Treatment for Lateral Epicondylitis
Pain before and after the treatments
Pain before therapies (%)
Pain after therapies (%)
34.78
28.26
10.87
10.87
8.70
2.17
2.17
0.00
0.00
0.00
International Journal Of Current Medical And Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 3, Issue, 05, pp. 1689-1692, May, 2017
1692
(Tennis Elbow); American Journal of Clinical and
Experimental Medicine 2017; 5(3): 60-63
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Outcomes for Acupuncture; Acupuncture Today;
August, 2006, Vol. 07, Issue 08
12. Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K; Nocturnal enuresis in
children - Treatment with acupuncture; IOSR Journal
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Ver. IX (September). 2016), PP 29-31
*******
... Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) includes the quintessence of classical Chinese philosophy, science from ancient Chinese history and culture. [6,7,8,9] CONCLUSION As a conclusion we can say that acupuncture, as part of the TCM, is a very helpful treatment for cluster headache, gives positive results and successfully is improving the health. ...
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Background Although acupuncture is widely used for chronic pain, there remains considerable controversy as to its value. We aimed to determine the effect size of acupuncture for 4 chronic pain conditions: back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain. Methods We conducted a systematic review to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for chronic pain in which allocation concealment was determined unambiguously to be adequate. Individual patient data meta-analyses were conducted using data from 29 of 31 eligible RCTs, with a total of 17 922 patients analyzed. Results In the primary analysis, including all eligible RCTs, acupuncture was superior to both sham and no-acupuncture control for each pain condition (P < .001 for all comparisons). After exclusion of an outlying set of RCTs that strongly favored acupuncture, the effect sizes were similar across pain conditions. Patients receiving acupuncture had less pain, with scores that were 0.23 (95% CI, 0.13–0.33), 0.16 (95% CI, 0.07–0.25), and 0.15 (95% CI, 0.07–0.24) SDs lower than sham controls for back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, and chronic headache, respectively; the effect sizes in comparison to no-acupuncture controls were 0.55 (95% CI, 0.51–0.58), 0.57 (95% CI, 0.50–0.64), and 0.42 (95% CI, 0.37–0.46) SDs. These results were robust to a variety of sensitivity analyses, including those related to publication bias. Conclusions Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo. However, these differences are relatively modest, suggesting that factors in addition to the specific effects of needling are important contributors to the therapeutic effects of acupuncture.
Article
Background: Although acupuncture is widely used for chronic pain, there remains considerable controversy as to its value. We aimed to determine the effect size of acupuncture for 4 chronic pain conditions: back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for chronic pain in which allocation concealment was determined unambiguously to be adequate. Individual patient data meta-analyses were conducted using data from 29 of 31 eligible RCTs, with a total of 17 922 patients analyzed. Results: In the primary analysis, including all eligible RCTs, acupuncture was superior to both sham and no-acupuncture control for each pain condition (P < .001 for all comparisons). After exclusion of an outlying set of RCTs that strongly favored acupuncture, the effect sizes were similar across pain conditions. Patients receiving acupuncture had less pain, with scores that were 0.23 (95% CI, 0.13-0.33), 0.16 (95% CI, 0.07-0.25), and 0.15 (95% CI, 0.07-0.24) SDs lower than sham controls for back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, and chronic headache, respectively; the effect sizes in comparison to no-acupuncture controls were 0.55 (95% CI, 0.51-0.58), 0.57 (95% CI, 0.50-0.64), and 0.42 (95% CI, 0.37-0.46) SDs. These results were robust to a variety of sensitivity analyses, including those related to publication bias. Conclusions: Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo. However, these differences are relatively modest, suggesting that factors in addition to the specific effects of needling are important contributors to the therapeutic effects of acupuncture.
Article
It is presently accepted that emotional disturbances lead to immune system impairment, and that therefore their treatment could restore the immune response. Thus, the aim of the present work was to study the effect of an acupuncture treatment, designed specifically to relieve the emotional symptoms stemming from anxiety, on several functions (adherence, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, basal and stimulated superoxide anion levels, lymphocyte proliferation in response to phytohemagglutinin A (PHA) and natural killer (NK) activity) of leukocytes (neutrophils and lymphocytes) from anxious women. The acupuncture protocol consisted of manual needle stimulation of 19 acupoints, with each session lasting 30 min. It was performed on 34 female 30-60 year old patients, suffering from anxiety, as determined by the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Before and 72 hours after receiving the first acupuncture session, peripheral blood samples were drawn. In 12 patients, samples were also collected immediately after the first single acupuncture session and one month after the end of the whole acupuncture treatment, which consisted of 10 sessions during a year, until the complete remission of anxiety. Twenty healthy non-anxious women in the same age range were used as controls. The results showed that the most favorable effects of acupuncture on the immune functions appear 72 hours after the single session and persist one month after the end of the complete treatment. Impaired immune functions in anxious women (chemotaxis, phagocytosis, lymphoproliferation and NK activity) were significantly improved by acupuncture, and augmented immune parameters (superoxide anion levels and lymphoproliferation of the patient subgroup whose values had been too high) were significantly diminished. Acupuncture brought the above mentioned parameters to values closer to those of healthy controls, exerting a modulatory effect on the immune system.
Acupuncture in the treatme Scientific and Innovative Research 4 M; Effect of acupuncture treatment on the immune function impairment found in anxious women
  • J Zhu
  • B Arsovska
  • K Kozovska
  • K Nikolovska
Zhu J, Arsovska B, Kozovska K, Nikolovska K; Acupuncture in the treatme Scientific and Innovative Research 4. Arranz L, Guayerbas N, Siboni L, De la Fuente M; Effect of acupuncture treatment on the immune function impairment found in anxious women;