Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine最新文献

Chinese acupuncture needling technique is traditionally free hand. Most Western practitioners, especially after the introduction of clean needle technique, needle using tubes. This article proposes a new needling protocol that combines the best of Chinese needling technique with tubed needles, efficient use of both hands to locate and prepare points, and strictly follows clean needle technique. (c) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

The heart tends to suffer from detriment (sun) and from diseases that belong to vacuity patterns. Due to the heart's governance of the spirit-mind, the depletion of heart yı̄n, yáng, qı̀ or blood will give rise to a variety of pathological changes of the heart-spirit. Heart qı̀ vacuity may result in insufficiency of spirit-qı̀, mental confusion, heart-spirit dissipation and desertion. Heart yáng vacuity can lead to devitalized essence-spirit, or fulminant desertion of heart yáng. Heart blood vacuity probably deprives heart-spirit of nourishment, even leading to the spirit's failure to abide. Heart yı̄n vacuity may lead to the heart-spirit becoming deprived of nourishment, giving rise to fulminant desertion of heart yı̄n. It thereby shows that heart diseases, due to either yáng qı̀ depletion or heart yı̄n blood insufficiency, can result in disease patterns of heart-spirit.

Objective: To evaluate the association between increased fetal movements during prenatal treatment with acupuncture and the duration of labor in order to distinguish between responders and non-responders.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vienna, Austria.

Subjects: Group A consisted of 192 women with increased fetal movements during acupuncture (AP); group B consisted of 76 women with no reaction. During each treatment session, fetal movements were noted by the women with a visual analogue scale. Positive response to AP-treatment was registered when at least three times during four treatment sessions an increased fetal movement was noted.

Results: Median duration of the first stage of labor was 204 min (range 40–495) in group A and 321 min (range 90–685) in group B (P < 0.0001). Median duration of the second stage of labor was 53 min (range 19–165) in group A and 88 minutes (range 10–259) in group B (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Our study indicates that increased fetal movements could be a marker for successful prenatal treatment with acupuncture.

Hysteria was once a serious psychological syndrome, but nowadays in the West, this disease category is never used. TCM literature available in English, however, often mentions hysteria and a number of other obsolete syndromes. Commentators on the development of Chinese medicine in modern times have noted a level of theoretical incoherence the explanation of which is no doubt complex, but in this case is certainly influenced by the Westernization of Chinese psychiatry that has taken place since the early 1900s. The timing of China's adoption of Western sciences and the systematizing of its indigenous medical tradition from the early 20th century is coincidental with a peak of interest and investigation of hysteria occurring in the West at that time. In the last 100 years, advances in Western psychology have led to many nosological developments; but students and practitioners of TCM in the West are still reading about (or possibly just overlooking) a disease whose name is not unfamiliar but whose meaning in terms of clinical presentations and implications is misunderstood, distorted, or simply unknown to them. A brief review of the ways hysteria has been presented in Western and Chinese medical texts is given in an effort to decipher a clinical picture of the syndrome and its relevance, if any, for modern TCM practice.

Ready-prepared Chinese medicine is one of the key components of traditional Chinese medicine. A database of ready-prepared Chinese medicines was developed for rationally using and effectively studying traditional Chinese medicine. This database contains detailed descriptions on 885 of the most famous and frequently used ready-prepared Chinese medicines in China, 120 most important officinal plants, 150 diseases and corresponding treatments. A relationship was established between diseases and ready-prepared Chinese medicines in the database. A user-friendly interface was programmed so that users could search the database easily. Application examples of the database were provided.

Functional neuroimaging techniques represent an innovative technological advance in recent neuroscience research. The non-invasive nature of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have made it possible to visualize not only the structure but also the function of the brain. Pioneering researchers have begun to apply these methods to acupuncture research. As the sensitivity and resolution of functional imaging technology continues to advance, there will be increasing opportunities for researchers to explore neural correlates of acupuncture efficacy as well as acupuncture's biological mechanisms. This paper provides an overview of recent developments in neuroimaging methods, introduces basic assumptions, limitations and advantages of selected methods, and discusses applications to acupuncture research and study design issues.