Acupuncture Useful for Dry Mouth, Pain after Neck Cancer Surgery

On a website oriented toward physicians, there was a recent report on a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology which demonstrated clear benefit for people suffering from xerostomia and pain after neck dissection for cancer in that region.

In summary, significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and xerostomia were observed in study patients receiving acupuncture versus usual care. Acupuncture treatment was well tolerated. Although further study is needed, these data support the potential role of acupuncture in addressing post-neck dissection pain and dysfunction, as well as xerostomia," the authors conclude.

More recently a research study performed by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, in the journal Cancer, comparing standard care for dry mouth found, 

Saliva flow rates were greater in the acupuncture group, starting at three weeks into radiotherapy and persisting through the one and six month follow-up.

Those in the treatment arm received acupuncture therapy three times per week during the seven-week course of radiotherapy.

 A newspaper article about this study can be ready here.

Study Shows Basis for Acupuncture's effect upon Spinal Nerve Cell Recovery

Excerpted from an article in the New Scientist which reports on a study which aims to reveal why acupuncture is so useful for helping repair spinal nerve damage:

Rats with damaged spines can walk again thanks to acupuncture.  . . . the ancient treatment seems to stop nerve cell death by reducing inflammation. Acupuncture's scientific credentials are growing. Trials show that it improves sensory and motor functions in people with spinal cord injuries.

To find out why, Doo Choi and his colleagues at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, damaged the spines of 75 rats. One-third were given acupuncture in two locations: Shuigou – between their snout and mouth, and Yanglingquan – in the upper hind leg. Others received no treatment or "simulated acupuncture".

After 35 days, the acupuncture group were able to stand at a steeper incline than the others and walk better. Staining their paws with ink revealed that their forelimb-hindlimb coordination was fairly consistent and that there was very little toe dragging, whereas the control groups still dragged their feet.

The rats in the acupuncture group also had less nerve cell death and lower levels of proteins known to induce inflammation after spinal cord injury and make neural damage worse.

Journal reference: Neurobiology of Disease, DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2010.04.003

Cancer Center Uses Acupuncture to Help Patients

Excerpted from the Northwestern Hospital press release:

The Maggie Daley Center for Women's Cancer Care was unveiled Monday night, April 19, at a ceremony that marked the debut of a novel center for treating breast and gynecological cancers and honored the First Lady of Chicago.

The new two-floor center offers a unique "one-stop shopping" integrative, holistic approach that addresses and centralizes all of a woman's needs -- emotional, aesthetic and physical -- during treatment.

A patient can easily access services to improve her quality of life in the same place she is seeing internationally renowned medical oncologists, gyne- and surgical oncologists and receiving cutting-edge therapy for breast and gynecological cancers.

At the new Center for Women's Cancer Care, women can get acupuncture or Reiki, visit a nutritionist or see a health psychologist to cope with their diagnoses and life during treatment. Adding to the convenience, a woman can receive many of these services while she is being infused with chemotherapy. A new program also offers rehabilitation services for women to maximize their strength and endurance.

Another source for this type of information, Oncology Nurse Advisor recommends acupuncture to manage symptoms of cancer, including fatigue. This is based on many sources, including a UCLA acupuncture study with cancer patients which found that, 

Fatigue was reduced by 66% among the study participants in the treatment group.

Acupuncture for Parkinson's in the Kansas news

The Kansas newspaper, The Morning Sun, writes a cautiously optimistic article about the growing evidence of acupuncture for Parkinson's related tremors. While the article strives to remain skeptical it concludes on a high note, based on the accumulating research data.

Mississippi Clarion Ledger writes about Acupuncture for the Treatment of Allergies

An upbeat article from a Mississippi newspaper, the Clarion Ledger, with a very positive review of the use of acupuncture and Chinese medicine for the treatment of seasonal allergies.