ABSTRACT
Clinical research is usually aimed at and guided by therapeutic efficacy. Clarifying the placebo effect and the nocebo effect from treatment outcomes is an important issue in clinical research. This paper reviews the meaning of the placebo effect， suggesting that factors that may produce the placebo effect in clinical practice include past experience associations， patient expectations， suggestion， and doctor-patient relationships. It also summarizes the characteristics of the nocebo effect， its influencing factors， and its impact on clinical prognosis. Combining the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine， this paper explores the design of acupuncture clinical trials that can reflect the measurement of the placebo effect， attempting to provide a clearer interpretation of the placebo effect in the evaluation of acupuncture efficacy in traditional Chinese medicine. Taking primary insomnia as an example， a prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial is designed to observe and evaluate the relationship between the treatment effects of acupuncture and the placebo effect in different patients under the treatment of the same doctor. Group comparisons will help better distinguish clinical effects in different situations. The authors also attempt to explore the responsive population to the placebo effect and the effects of placebos in different populations.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, more and more patients of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have strong desire to be treated with acupuncture. In "Effect of acupuncture and clomiphene in Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized clinical trial" published in() on June 27, 2017, the finding of this research does not support acupuncture for such infertility women. The questions and doubts are proposed in the paper from the regimen of acupuncture treatment, the determination of primary outcome and the explanation of the results. It is found by comparison that the trigger point treatment in the article is different from traditional acupuncture, there is doubt in live birth rate as the primary outcome, 4-month treatment is not enough for the change of live birth rate, difference without statistic significance between acupuncture and control acupuncture does not mean invalid acupuncture because the control acupuncture is not invalid, the research and statistic method are not those planned. As a result, we consider that the conclusion is unreasonable.
ABSTRACT
Theandhave been the state-compiled textbooks of acupuncture-moxibustion in colleges and universities of TCM for nearly more than half a century, which play a regulating and guiding role for acupuncture education and to a certain extent represent the development status of this discipline. The indications included infrom 1th edition to 7th edition andfrom 1th edition to 3rd edition were analyzed in this study, which was aimed to basically reflect the current situation of acupuncture indications. As a result, it was found the inheritance and innovation of indications were both reflected in each edition of textbooks, 1/3 of which occurred repeatedly in more than half of the textbooks, and 1/3 of which occurred only once. The indications were classified by internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, dermatology, orthopedics, etc., which were not consistent with system classification of modern medicine such as digestive system, respiratory system, etc. The indications were mainly named after TCM disease names, involving only several names of western medicine diseases, which were contradicted to the names adopted from journals and literature. This inconformity of classification method and naming method between TCM and western medicine was not only a difficulty for modern acupuncture and moxibustion, but also an essential factor to hinder the development of acupuncture, therefore comparative study was needed in the future.
ABSTRACT
The characteristics and academic thoughts of Chinese Acup-Mox Medicine written by YAO Tianmin during the Republic of China was studied and analyzed in this paper. The academic thoughts of this book were confluence of Chinese and western knowledge, respecting for classics culture but not stubborn, using western science and medicine without worshiping it. The main characteristics were the scientific meridian-acupoint theory, extensive acupoint selection, "qie" method of acupuncture, high recommendation on medicated thread and ironing moxibustion, reinforcing and reducing based on the meridian direction in infantile massage, using acupuncture and cream formula for surgical treatment, and creating his own acupuncture codes.
Subject(s)
Humans , Acupuncture Points , Acupuncture Therapy , History , Books , History , China , History, 20th Century , Moxibustion , HistoryABSTRACT
On the basis of systematicly reviewing the developmental history of acupuncture and moxibustion and profoundly understanding its academic connotations,the authors of the present article make a summary and analysis on the key factors influencing the development of acupuncturology. These key factors are 1) the emergence of "microacupuncture needle regulating-Qi" and the establishement of their corresponding theory system,2) a large number of practitioners who inherited the learnings of acupuncturology generations by generations,and abundant medical classical works which recorded the valuable academic thoughts and clinical experience of the predecesors,3) the application of acupuncture charts and manikins,and 4) modernizing changes of acupuncture learnings after introduction of western medicine to China. Just under the influence of these key factors,the acupuncture medicine separates itself from the level of the simple experience medicine,and has formed a set of special theory system and developed into a mature subject.