Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Electroacupuncture reduces the dose of midazolam monitored by the bispectral index in critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation: an exploratory study.
Electroacupuncture, a modern variation on a traditional Chinese treatment, might be useful for sedation and analgesia. This study aims to investigate whether electroacupuncture can modify the dose of midazolam monitored by the bispectral index (BIS) in critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Electroacupuncture appears to reduce markedly the dose of sedative drug required in critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation monitored by BIS, without any obvious severe adverse action, and larger studies to confirm the effect are justified.
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Central neuropathic pain is a common debilitating symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis. Side effects of analgesics often limit reaching therapeutic dosages. ⋯ However, after adding the natural compound palmitoylethanolamide, a glial modulator and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α agonist, pain reduction was more pronounced and the interval between acupuncture sessions could be increased. A multimodal stepped care approach is demonstrated, with acupuncture and palmitoylethanolamide both influencing non-neuronal cells, such as activated glial cells, which are key factors in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): a pilot study using neurography.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) can produce severe neurological deficits and neuropathic pain and is a potential reason for terminating or suspending chemotherapy treatments. Specific and effective curative treatments are lacking. ⋯ The data suggest that acupuncture has a positive effect on CIPN. The encouraging results of this pilot study justify a randomised controlled trial of acupuncture in CIPN on the basis of NCS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Acupuncture for hot flushes in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a randomised, sham-controlled trial.
To determine the effect of acupuncture in treating hot flushes in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women. ⋯ Compared to sham acupuncture, acupuncture failed to show significantly different effects on the hot flush scores but showed partial benefits on the hot flush severity. Further consideration is needed to develop appropriate strategies for distinguishing non-specific effects from observed overall effectiveness of acupuncture for hot flushes. Whether acupuncture has point-specific effects for hot flushes should be also considered in designing future researches.