Acupuncture for Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

A male patient aged 70 years, diagnosed as the benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) stage I, was the subject of this study. The effectiveness of acupuncture was evaluated by uroflowmetry (UFM). The patient received acupuncture treatments once a week for 5 weeks. Disposable needles (0.30mm in diameter), were inserted into bilateral Zhongliao (BL-33) points and rotated manually for 10 minutes. Average flow rate (AFR), maximum flow rate (MFR) and flow curve (FC) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment. The AFR before acupuncture, immediately after the treatments and twelve months after the cessation of acupuncture were 3.2ml/s, 11.4ml/s and 2ml/s, respectively. The MFR were 10ml/s, 20ml/s and 10ml/s, respectively. FC was observed as normal pattern during the treatment, but the obstructive pattern were recorded before and after the treatment.<br>Acupuncture treatment to the BL-33 points for BPH was shown to be useful although the effect was not long-lasting.