Our Acupuncture Experıences in Patıents with Remarkable Leg Syndrome: Pilot Study

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a disease characterized by an undescribable abnormal sensation, a kind of dysesthesia, especially in the legs. It is characteristic for restless legs syndrome that the symptoms are circadian in nature, that is, they are more pronounced in the evening and at night, and occur or increase at rest. In response to these effects, when the effects of acupuncture on various systems and symptoms and the mechanisms of these effects are evaluated, the benefits of acupuncture in restless legs syndrome may be the subject of research. This study was carried out on patients who applied to Konya Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty Traditional and Complementary Medicine Center with the complaints of restless legs syndrome. In addition, nothing was requested from the participants. Informed consent form was obtained. Both body and ear acupuncture were applied for 10 sessions once a week. ST-33,34,35,GB-34, H-7LU-9,P-6,SI-3 points and shen-men,zero,knee on the ear , depression points were pricked. Electro acupuncture was applied for 20 minutes.) Pittsburgh sleep quality index scale questionnaire and john hopkins scale were applied to the participants before and after acupuncture. .Pittsburgh sleep quality index mean pre-acupuncture:35.5.Post acupuncture Pittsburgh sleep quality index mean:24. With the application of acupuncture, progress can be made in the treatment of restless legs syndrome that does not respond to conventional treatment.

Ear acupuncture as an adjunct in a treatment protocol for anorexia nervosa: utilization rate and nurses’ experience

Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a life-threatening illness. Sometimes long inpatient treatment is necessary, increasing the anxiety that comes with hospitalization and the necessary weight gain. Safe, non-pharmacological adjunctive therapies that improve subjective health are called for. Objective: The aim of this non-randomized, mixed-methods observational study was to describe the utilization rate and nurses’ experiences of ear acupuncture in a highly specialized clinic for eating disorders in Sweden, in which acupuncture had been implemented as part of routine clinical care. Twenty-five patients with AN-treated voluntarily or by law were included. The semi-standardized National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) ear acupuncture protocol, sometimes combined with needling at 2 traditional acupuncture point locations on the body, had been implemented as a voluntary adjunct to usual care, twice weekly. To evaluate the acceptance of acupuncture, the study examined how often patients chose acupuncture when offered on schedule, and how often they asked for extra acupuncture sessions. Patients rated their subjective health using the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and visual analogue scale (VAS), treatment satisfaction with usual care and acupuncture, and health-related quality of life with the RAND36 instrument. A credibility/expectancy questionnaire (CEQ) was used to measure confidence in treatment. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated to follow the patients’ recovery. Nurses’ experiences of giving acupuncture as a part of routine care were captured in interviews, and analysed with content analysis. Ethical approval was obtained. Results: Despite an initially moderate level of trust in acupuncture, the utilization rate of the scheduled acupuncture was 89% and patients asked for extra acupuncture sessions on 28 occasions. No serious side effects were reported. Nurses’ experiences of providing acupuncture were positive. They were generally enthusiastic, although they reported finding it difficult to organize group treatments and to find time for acupuncture sessions if they were not scheduled. Conclusion: Further research into the effectiveness and costs of acupuncture in psychiatric care is needed. This study provides relevant information for clinicians as well as researchers planning future randomized controlled trials.

Wrist Ankle Acupuncture (WAA) and Body Acupuncture Accelerates Neurorehabilitation in Bell's Palsy: A Case Report

Bell’s Palsy (BP) is an acute unilateral facial paralysis due to idiopathic inflammation of the peripheral facial nerve. Corticosteroids, antiviral drugs, and physical therapy could be useful to treat BP, however these treatments could not bring complete recovery. Acupuncture could be an alternative option for BP and to show its effectiveness, we present a case report, a patient with BP treated with acupuncture. A 48-year-old female patient, a kindergarden teacher, already treated with corticosteroid and antiviral agents as soon as BP was diagnosed. Six weeks later, patient didn’t recover, with House-Brackmann score stage 3. Acupuncture was perfomed at local and distance acupoints at ears, body and face. Wrist Ankle Acupuncture (WAA) L1,2; ear acupuncture at zero point; and body points were stimulated by electroacu-puncture. After acupuncture therapy, the House-Brackmann score was grade 2. Medical options for the sequelae of BP are limited. Acupuncture’s effectivity in Bell palsy patients’ should be shown with more clinical studies. Keywords: Acupuncture; Wrist Ankle Acupuncture; Bell’s Palsy; Recovery

Acupuntura auricular na redução da dor em idosos: revisão integrativa

Objetivo: Analisar as evidências disponíveis na literatura sobre o uso da acupuntura auricular na redução da dor em idosos. Metodologia: Revisão integrativa da literatura realizada nas bases MEDLINE, LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect e CINAHL, por meio dos descritores “idoso” (aged), “acupuntura auricular” (auricular acupuncture OR ear acupuncture) e “redução da dor” (pain). A busca inicial encontrou 179 estudos, foram incluídos artigos originais, disponíveis na íntegra, em qualquer idioma e não foi adotado recorte temporal. Após a revisão de títulos e resumos, 15 permaneceram para análise do texto completo. Por fim, 11 estudos foram incluídos na revisão. Resultados: A eficácia da acupuntura auricular no controle e tratamento da dor foi evidenciada em populações diversas, tais como idosos oncológicos, indivíduos submetidos a procedimentos cirúrgicos e com algum tipo de dor. Conclusão: Apesar do número limitado de estudos com idosos, das populações diversificadas e dos diferentes protocolos de intervenção, recomenda-se que a AA associada ou não a outros tratamentos pode contribuir para a redução da dor em idosos.

Ear Acupuncture Points in Neonates From Drug-Dependent Mothers: A Prospective Study

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the presence or absence of ear acupuncture points (EAP) in newborn children with or without neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and to confirm the hypothesis that neonates with NAS have more EAP than healthy neonates.Methods: We conducted a prospective case control study with ethical consent at the University Children's Hospital, Division of Neonatology Bern and the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Inselspital Bern in Switzerland. We determined the EAP in n = 26 newborn children born to drug-dependent mothers compared with n = 50 healthy newborns. For the detection of EAP, we used an ear point detection pen. EAP are present only if weakness exists in the corresponding area.Results: Twenty-six neonates who were born to drug-dependent mothers and developed NAS were screened on the 5th day after delivery (range 1–22). The median Finnegan Score was 12 points (range 6–18) on the day of examination. Twenty-four active EAP were detected on the left earlobe and 25 were detected on the right earlobe. There was no significant difference between the right and left lobes (p = 0.9285, two tailed test) and the number of acupuncture points. The correlation between the Finnegan Score and the number of EAP was highly significant (p = 0.0001). The most common active points were the psycho-vegetative rim of the reflex zone of sympathicus and parasympathicus. Organic points were also commonly detected. The urinary bladder, kidney and hip points were detected with a frequency of 12–15%. The shen men pain point was found in three neonates, and the point of desire as a psychological point, was also detected. The correlation between sex and active EAP was highly significant (p = 0.0093, Mann-Whitney test for the left earlobe and p = 0.0025 for the right earlobe). Boys had a significantly higher number of EAP than girls. All NADA points were detected in the neonates born to drug-dependent mothers, and the most frequent point was the vegetative point. Healthy neonates showed only the vegetative point in the vegetative rim 1/3 among the NADA points. A comparison of newborns born to drug-dependent mothers and 50 healthy neonates showed that the former group had statistically significantly more active points. For the left earlobe, the difference between neonates born to drug-dependent mothers and controls was statistically significant (p = 0.0008, Mann-Whitney test). Highly similar results were found for the right earlobe (p = 0.0001, Mann-Whitney test).Discussion: Our current work confirms that neonates born to drug-dependent mothers with high Finnegan scores and NAS have more EAP than healthy neonates. The vegetative rim is the most common point as shown in our previous studies. Our observations showed that twins had similar but not identical points; each individual had unique points depending on health status. Newborn boys with NAS had a higher number of EAP than newborn girls in the neonatal intensive care unit. This findings may be attributed to the reserve of newborns with NAS. Newborn girls are considered more robust than boys in the neonatal care setting. EAP in neonates might potentially be used for diagnosis and therapeutic opinions in neonates in the future.

Evaluation of anthropometric results after acupuncture and diet applications in obesity patients:an experimental-control study

Obesity is a disease defined by excessive fat storage in the body. It is an energy balance problem; the increase in body fat is caused by an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. This study aimed to determinate the changes in the anthropometric measurements of patients after acupuncture treatment used in obesity treatment. The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2019 in xxx University's GETAT Center). Patients aged between 18–65 years with a BMI > 25 were included in the study. The participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 (acupuncture and diet) and Group 2 (diet only). Exclusion criteria: Pregnant women, breastfeeding patients , susceptible demographics (acute coronary insufficiency, immunodeficiency, severe psychotic disorder, liver and kidney failure), and those who could not give consent were not included in the study. Weight, BMI, and metabolic age values were measured with a Tanita device; the same diagnostic device was used for all patients. Both body and ear acupuncture were performed. In patients with all acupuncture, the yuan points of abnormal meridians were used for pulse diagnosis. ST 24, 25, and 36 (ZuSanLi); GV 20, 21, 5, 5, and LR 3 (Taichong); SP 6 and 9, GB 34, UB 62, HT 7, LU 9, and PC 6 (Nei Guan); and SI 3 and EXT-HN 3 (Yin-Tang) points were dewed. For ear acupuncture, hunger, kidney, larynx, stomach, jerome, and shen-men points were taken. A t-test was applied to pre- and post-acupuncture measurement values. After acupuncture, the waist circumference of the participants decreased significantly (p < 0.005). The BMI of the participants also decreased significantly after acupuncture (p < 0.005). In these studies, LU 6, ST 40, ST 21, K 4, ST 36 and 25, and LI 11 body points were used, while hunger, stomach, and shen-men points were commonly used as ear points.