Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
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Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · Jan 2012
Effectiveness of a tai-chi training and detraining on functional capacity, symptomatology and psychological outcomes in women with fibromyalgia.
Background. The purpose was to analyze the effects of Tai-Chi training in women with fibromyalgia (FM). Methods. ⋯ The intervention was also effective in six SF-36 subscales: bodily pain (P = 0.003), vitality (P = 0.018), physical functioning, physical role, general health, and mental health (all P < 0.001). Conclusions. A 28-week Tai-Chi intervention showed improvements on pain, functional capacity, symptomatology and psychological outcomes in female FM patients.
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Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · Jan 2012
Activation of Spinal α2-Adrenoceptors Using Diluted Bee Venom Stimulation Reduces Cold Allodynia in Neuropathic Pain Rats.
Cold allodynia is an important distinctive feature of neuropathic pain. The present study examined whether single or repetitive treatment of diluted bee venom (DBV) reduced cold allodynia in sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI) rats and whether these effects were mediated by spinal adrenergic receptors. Single injection of DBV (0.25 or 2.5 mg/kg) was performed into Zusanli acupoint 2 weeks post CCI, and repetitive DBV (0.25 mg/kg) was injected for 2 weeks beginning on day 15 after CCI surgery. ⋯ On the other hand, repetitive treatments of low-dose DBV showing no motor deficit remarkably suppressed cold allodynia from 7 days after DBV treatment. This effect was also reversed by intrathecal idazoxan injection. These findings demonstrated that single or repetitive stimulation of DBV could alleviate CCI-induced cold allodynia via activation of spinal α2-adrenoceptor.
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Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · Jan 2012
The Inhibition of Spinal Astrocytic JAK2-STAT3 Pathway Activation Correlates with the Analgesic Effects of Triptolide in the Rat Neuropathic Pain Model.
Neuropathic pain (NP) is an intractable clinical problem without satisfactory treatments. However, certain natural products have been revealed as effective therapeutic agents for the management of pain states. In this study, we used the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) pain model to investigate the antinociceptive effect of triptolide (T10), a major active component of the traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. ⋯ Above all, T10 can alleviate SNL-induced NP via inhibiting the neuroinflammation in the spinal dorsal horn. The anti-inflammation effect of T10 may be related with the suppression of spinal astrocytic JAK-STAT3 activation. Our results suggest that T10 may be a promising drug for the treatment of NP.
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Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · Jan 2012
A systematic review of the effect of expectancy on treatment responses to acupuncture.
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture often find equivalent responses to real and placebo acupuncture despite both appearing superior to no treatment. This raises questions regarding the mechanisms of acupuncture, especially the contribution of patient expectancies. We systematically reviewed previous research assessing the relationship between expectancy and treatment responses following acupuncture, whether real or placebo. ⋯ A descriptive review revealed that five studies found statistically significant effects of expectancy on a least one outcome, with three also finding evidence suggestive of an interaction between expectancy and type of acupuncture (real or placebo). While there were some trends in significant effects in terms of study characteristics, their generality is limited by the heterogeneity of study designs. The differences in design across studies highlight some important methodological considerations for future research in this area, particularly regarding whether to assess or manipulate expectancies and how best to assess expectancies.
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Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · Jan 2012
Does acupuncture needling induce analgesic effects comparable to diffuse noxious inhibitory controls?
Diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC) is described as one possible mechanism of acupuncture analgesia. This study investigated the analgesic effect of acupuncture without stimulation compared to nonpenetrating sham acupuncture (NPSA) and cold-pressor-induced DNIC. Forty-five subjects received each of the three interventions in a randomized order. ⋯ There was no statistically significant difference between acupuncture and NPSA at any time, but a significantly higher increase of PPDT in the DNIC test compared to acupuncture and NPSA. PPDT decreased after the DNIC test, whereas it remained stable after acupuncture and NPSA. Acupuncture needling at low pain stimulus intensity showed a small analgesic effect which did not significantly differ from placebo response and was significantly less than a DNIC-like effect of a painful noninvasive stimulus.