Research

A clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of acupuncture for insufficient lactation
Tureanu, L., & Tureanu, V. (1994). A clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of acupuncture for insufficient lactation. American Journal of Acupuncture, 22(1), 23-27.
Published on Jan 1, 1994

A prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of the effect of acupuncture in infertile patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia
Dieterle et al Fertil Steril 2009 Oct; 92 (4): Fertility and Sterility CONCLUSION(S): This recent small clinical trial randomized 57 patients who had extremely low sperm counts, to acupuncture and placebo acupuncture groups. After receiving acupuncture twice weekly for 6 weeks motility of sperm (but not overall count) was found to increase significantly. The authors conclude that the results of the present study support the significance of acupuncture in male patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia. More evidence with larger trials needs to be accumulated before the efficacy and effectiveness of acupuncture in male infertility can be evaluated.
Published on Apr 25, 2009

A randomised-controlled trial in Sweden of acupuncture and care interventions for the relief of inflammatory symptoms of the breast during lactation.
Kvist LJ, Hall-Lord ML, Rydhstroem H, Larsson BW., Midwifery. 2007 Jun;23(2):184-95. Epub 2006 Oct 18. Source: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Floor 2, Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, SE-251 87 Sweden. linda.kvist@helsingborgslasarett.se KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: If acupuncture treatment is acceptable to the mother, this, together with care interventions such as correction of breast feeding position and babies attachment to the breast, might be a more expedient and less invasive choice of treatment than the use of oxytocin nasal spray. Midwives, nurses or medical practitioners with specialist competence in breast feeding should be the primary care providers for mothers with inflammatory symptoms of the breast during lactation. The use of antibiotics for inflammatory symptoms of the breast should be closely monitored in order to help the global community reduce resistance development among bacterial pathogens.
Published on Oct 18, 2006

Acupressure for labor pain management: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Chen, Y., Xiang, X. Y., Chin, K., Gao, J., Wu, J., Lao, L., & Chen, H. (2020). Acupressure for labor pain management: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, 96452842a0946044. Advance online publication. Acupressure decreases duration of labor and perception of pain.
Published on Apr 24, 2020

Acupuncture blocks cold stress-induced increases in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in the rat.
Eshkevari L, Permaul E, Mulroney SE. 2013. Acupuncture blocks cold stress-induced increases in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in the rat. J Endocrinology, 15;217(1):95-104. CONCLUSIONS: “electronic acupuncture blocks the chronic, stress-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY pathway”
Published on Mar 15, 2013

Acupuncture conversion of fetal breech presentation.
Fetal Diagn Ther. 2003 Nov-Dec;18(6):418-21. Habek D, Cerkez Habek J, Jagust M. Clinical Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Hospital Osijek, Osijek, Croatia. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that AP correction of fetal malpresentation is a relatively simple, efficacious and inexpensive method associated with a lower percentage of operatively completed deliveries, which definitely reflects in improved parameters of vital and perinatal statistics.
Published on Dec 8, 2003

Acupuncture for cervical ripening and induction of labor at term–a randomized controlled trial.
Rabl M, Ahner R, Bitschnau M, Zeisler H, Husslein P., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Vienna, Austria. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2001 Dec 17;113(23-24):942-6 CONCLUSION(S): Acupuncture at points LI4 and SP 6 supports cervical ripening at term and can shorten the time interval between the EDC and the actual time of delivery.
Published on Dec 17, 2001

Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.
Manber R, Schnyer RN, Lyell D, Chambers AS, Caughey AB, Druzin M, Carlyle E, Celio C, Gress JL, Huang MI, Kalista T, Martin-Okada R, Allen JJ., Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar;115(3):511-20. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181cc0816. Source: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. rmanber@stanford.edu CONCLUSION: The short acupuncture protocol demonstrated symptom reduction and a response rate comparable to those observed in standard depression treatments of similar length and could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy.
Published on Mar 1, 2010

Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.
Manber R, et al. Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar;115(3):511-20. CONCLUSION: The short acupuncture protocol demonstrated symptom reduction and a response rate comparable to those observed in standard depression treatments of similar length and could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy.
Published on Mar 11, 2010

Acupuncture for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Armour M, Smith CA, Wang LQ, et al. 2019. Acupuncture for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Med. 8(8):1140.
Published on Aug 14, 2019

Acupuncture for ovulation induction in polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled trial.
Johansson J, Redman L, Veldhuis PP, Sazonova A, Labrie F, Holm G, Johannsson G, Stener-Victorin E. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Mar 12. University of Gothenburg. CONCLUSION(S): We conclude that repeated acupuncture treatments resulted in higher ovulation frequency in lean/overweight women with PCOS and were more effective than just meeting with the therapist. Ovarian and adrenal sex steroid serum levels were reduced with no effect on LH secretion.
Published on Mar 12, 2013

Acupuncture for Pain Management in Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Conclusions. Acupuncture plus drug therapy is more effective than conventional drug therapy alone for cancer-related pain. Hu, C., Zhang, H., Wu, W., Yu, W., Li, Y., Bai, J., Luo, B., & Li, S. (2016). Acupuncture for Pain Management in Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2016, 1720239. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1720239
Published on Feb 10, 2016

Acupuncture for pelvic and back pain in pregnancy: a systematic review.
Ee CC, Manheimer E, Pirotta MV, White AR., Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Mar;198(3):254-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2007.11.008. Source: Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. ccee@unimelb.edu.au Abstract: The objective of our study was to review the effectiveness of needle acupuncture in treating the common and disabling problem of pelvic and back pain in pregnancy. Two small trials on mixed pelvic/back pain and 1 large high-quality trial on pelvic pain met the inclusion criteria. Acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard treatment, was superior to standard treatment alone and physiotherapy in relieving mixed pelvic/back pain. Women with well-defined pelvic pain had greater relief of pain with a combination of acupuncture and standard treatment, compared to standard treatment alone or stabilizing exercises and standard treatment. We used a narrative synthesis due to significant clinical heterogeneity between trials. Few and minor adverse events were reported. We conclude that limited evidence supports acupuncture use in treating pregnancy-related pelvic and back pain. Additional high-quality trials are needed to test the existing promising evidence for this relatively safe and popular complementary therapy.
Published on Mar 19, 2008

Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine.
Linde, K., Allais, G., Brinkhaus, B., Fei, Y., Mehring, M., Vertosick, E. A., Vickers, A., & White, A. R. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2016(6), CD001218. Authors' conclusions: The available evidence suggests that adding acupuncture to symptomatic treatment of attacks reduces the frequency of headaches. Contrary to the previous findings, the updated evidence also suggests that there is an effect over sham, but this effect is small. The available trials also suggest that acupuncture may be at least similarly effective as treatment with prophylactic drugs. Acupuncture can be considered a treatment option for patients willing to undergo this treatment.
Published on Oct 14, 2016

Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache
Linde, K., Allais, G., Brinkhaus, B., Fei, Y., Mehring, M., Shin, B. C., Vickers, A., & White, A. R. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 4(4), CD007587. Authors' conclusions: The available results suggest that acupuncture is effective for treating frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches, but further trials - particularly comparing acupuncture with other treatment options - are needed.
Published on Apr 19, 2016

Acupuncture in improving endometrial receptivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis
We found very low to moderate level of evidence that acupuncture may improve pregnancy rate and embryo transfer rate, increase trilinear endometrium, thicken endometrium, reduce resistive index (RI), pulse index (PI) and peak systolic velocity/ end-diastolic blood velocity (S/D), compared with medication, sham acupuncture or physiotherapy. Acupuncture was statistically significant as a treatment approach.
Published on Mar 13, 2019

Acupuncture in Postdate Pregnancy Management
Neri I, Pignatti L, Fontanesi F, Facchinetti F. 2018. Acupuncture in Postdate Pregnancy Management. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 11(5):332-336.
Published on Oct 1, 2018

Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial.
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1341-6. Epub 2006 Apr 5. Westergaard LG, Mao Q, Krogslund M, Sandrini S, Lenz S, Grinsted J. – Fertility Clinic Trianglen, Hellerup, Denmark. CONCLUSION(S): Acupuncture on the day of ET significantly improves the reproductive outcome of IVF/ICSI, compared with no acupuncture. Repeating acupuncture on ET day +2 provided no additional beneficial effect.
Published on Apr 5, 2006

Acupuncture or acupressure for induction of labour
Smith CA, Armour M, Dahlen HG. 2017. Acupuncture or acupressure for induction of labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 10(10):CD002962.
Published on Oct 1, 2017

Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour.
Smith CA, Collins CT, Levett KM, Armour M, Dahlen HG, Tan AL, Mesgarpour B. (2020) Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD009232. Acupressure led to decreased pain and C-sections.
Published on Apr 24, 2020

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