Research Update: The effect of acupuncture on gastrointestinal motility is dependent on the pathophysiological condition of the patient

August 15, 2011 · by Sean Heneghan · Uncategorized

In the August 2011 edition of Acupuncture in Medicine, the British Medical Journals’s title devoted to western medical acupuncture, a study carried out in Korea has demonstrated the differing effects of acupuncture on patients in different states of health.

Previous research has demonstrated that the effect of acupuncture is different in healthy volunteers than in patients who are symptomatic. In a study carried out at the department of Oriental Internal Medicine at Daejeon Hospital, researchers have demonstrated that although there is no difference between sham acupuncture and true acupuncture in healthy volunteers, when patients gastrointestinal function is impeded by administration of loperamide, true acupuncture has significant benefits of over sham on affecting intestinal function. The study provides further support to the idea that acupuncture stimulates homeostatic mechanisms via the autonomic nervous system. Among other things the study demonstrates the importance of understanding that the health of patients in acupuncture trials determines the results of the effects generated, and should always be a consideration in attempting to determine the effects of acupuncture in the setting of a clinical trial.

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