China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
The relationship between stress and in vitro fertilization outcome
Published in David K. Gardner, Ariel Weissman, Colin M. Howles, Zeev Shoham, Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques, 2017
The literature about the efficacy of acupuncture has been equivocal. The basic tenets of acupuncture posit that its efficacy is achieved by balancing the flow of qi (energy) through the patient’s body (49). Fertility mechanisms for women undergoing acupuncture involve the stimulation of β-endorphin secretion that has its impact on the gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse generator and then upon gonadotropin and steroid secretion. This process creates a favorable environment within the uterus for implantation of the embryos by virtue of the increased blood flow (50). Although some studies have demonstrated a higher clinical pregnancy rate for acupuncture (50–52), others studies have shown no positive effects (49,53). Acupuncture’s efficacy has been explored by comparing traditional acupuncture (needle insertions along the meridians and points), to electro acupuncture, to laser acupuncture, and to sham acupuncture. Criticism of the comparability of all these approaches has been made in the Western medical community and in traditional Chinese medical communities alike (54).
Energy Medicine: Focus on Nonthermal Electromagnetic Therapies
Published in Len Wisneski, The Scientific Basis of Integrative Health, 2017
Len Wisneski, Bernard O. Williams
A modern acupuncture needle is made with a steel shaft and a handle of a dissimilar metal—copper, silver, bronze, or an alloy, wound around the upper half to one quarter of the shaft. Three different electrical phenomena arise when an acupuncture needle is inserted in the tissue. A thermoelectric potential develops along the shaft because of a temperature gradient. The tip in the tissue becomes warmer than the handle, and the larger surface area of the handle prolongs this effect by acting as a radiator in contact with air. The tip of the needle develops a positive potential via the Seebeck effect of the temperature gradient. A thermoelectric Seebeck effect causes current flow between two dissimilar metals, if there is a temperature difference at their junction. This electrode effect is also augmented by bimetallic microbattery potentials, developed at the interface of the steel shaft and the dissimilar metal of the handle (Helms, 1995).
Other Treatments for Dyspnea
Published in Donald A. Mahler, Denis E. O’Donnell, Dyspnea, 2014
Acupuncture (acus, needle; pungere, to prick) is based on the premise that bodily functions are regulated by an energy called qi that flows from inside the body to the skin, muscles, tendons, bones, and joints by channels or meridians. Disruptions of this flow are believed to be responsible for disease. According to traditional Chinese medicine, dyspnea is a result of a deficiency in the flow of qi in the lungs [90]. After electroacupuncture, β-endorphin levels are increased both in blood [91,92] and in cerebrospinal fluid in humans [93–95]. Investigators have hypothesized that acupuncture might improve dyspnea by release of endogenous opioids and/or modulation of the immune response [95,96]. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that acupuncture needle stimulation activates a cortical network that includes the insula, thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex, and primary and secondary somatosensory cortices [97].
The mechanism of electroacupuncture for treating spinal cord injury rats by mediating Rho/Rho-associated kinase signaling pathway
Published in The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2021
En-si Hong, Hai-hua Yao, You-jiang Min, Jie Sun, Xuan Zhou, Xue-bo Zeng, Wan Yu
In the EA treatment group, the rats were restrained on a board. Stainless steel 0.18-mm-diameter needles (Hwato Disposable Acupuncture Needle; Jiangsu Medical Supplies Factory, Jiangsu Province, China) were inserted to a depth of approximately 5 mm at the following acupoints: Yaoyangguan (GV3) and Dazhui (GV14), and Zusanli (ST36), Ciliao (BL32) on both sides.21 Then, the needles were connected to an Hwato SDZ-II EA apparatus (Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China). Alternating strings of dense-sparse frequencies (100 Hz for 1.5 ms and 2 Hz for 1.5 ms alternately) were selected. The intensity was adjusted to induce a slight twitch of the hindlimb. EA treatment was performed for 20 min once per day, lasting for 14 days. Rats in the Y27632 treatment group received the blocking agent Y27632 (Qilu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Jinan, Shandong Province, China) by subdural injection via a microinjector from a homemade PE10 tube (the 18 μg, 18 μg Y27632 lyophilized powders were dissolved in 30 μL phosphate buffered saline solution; each rat received 0.54 mL/kg), once per day, lasting for 14 days.8
Hypnosis and end-stage renal disease: Review and treatment
Published in American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 2020
Samuels (2005) reports two cases of extreme needle phobia which were treated by hypnosis. One involved an adult male with painful tendonitis of the anterior-ulnar aspect of the right forearm. He was extremely sensitive even to light touch, and unwilling to have acupuncture needles inserted in or around this area because of the severe pain. Under hypnosis, he learned glove anesthesia for his entire forearm and then inserted his own acupuncture needles. The other was a woman with extremely debilitating occipital migraine headaches, without clear neurological source. After induction with progressive muscle relaxation, the patient was guided to visualize the traditional Chinese medicine meridian, descending from the back of her head, down her neck, down her shoulders, and upper arms into her hands and fingers. Her therapist suggested that the acupuncture needle would allow the blocked and stagnant energy to flow down the meridian and reduce pressure in her brain. The combination of acupuncture and hypnosis reduced the woman’s headache and needle phobia.
A Comparison of the Efficacy of Acupuncture and Hypnotherapy in Patients With Migraine
Published in International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2018
Kenan Tastan, Ozlem Ozer Disci, Turan Set
In addition, some complementary and alternative therapies are used for migraine treatment. One of these methods used worldwide for migraine attacks is acupuncture (Du, Wang, Liu, & Liu, 2015). The available studies suggest that acupuncture may be effective in reducing migraines (Linde et al., 2016). The mechanisms by which acupuncture reduces pain are not yet fully known. The mechanisms are thought to be that acupuncture stimulates the pain control system by stimulating the neurons with the needle insertion at an acupuncture point. A series of events follow each other when an acupuncture needle is inserted at an acupuncture point. The stimulus first reaches the medulla spinalis, brain stem, and cortex. Subsequently, it stimulates the pain control system by stimulating neurons in the periaqueductal gray matter and periventricular area in the mesencephalon. As a result of the stimulation of the pain control system, beta endorphin, encephalin, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels rise in the brain and plasma (Cabioglu, 2010). Through this effect, it is thought that acupuncture could be used for treatment of the pain syndrome.