Research update: Acupuncture and radiation induced xerostomia

November 18, 2011 · by Sean Heneghan · Acupuncture News, Research

Researchers in China have been investigating the potential of acupuncture in relieving xerostomia (dry mouth) induced by head and neck radiation in cancer patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Current standard care often offers little in relieving this simple but distressing symptom and this randomized controlled trial compared acupuncture with current treatment options.

The researchers note that xerostermia questionnaire scores for the acupuncture patients were statistically significantly lower than controls starting at 3 weeks through to 6 months. Regarding salivary flow, group differences emerged as early as 3 weeks and salivary flow rates were improved even at 6 months post treatment.

The researchers concluded acupuncture given concurrently with radiotherapy significantly reduced xerostomia and improved quality of life.

Full details of the research can be found here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22072272

Leave a Reply

Sean Heneghan - Traditional Acupuncturist. Delivering acupuncture in berkhamsted, milton keynes, tring, hemel hempstead, st albans, amersham and chesham, and acupuncture in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Sean Heneghan is a Traditional Acupuncturist operating acupuncture clinics in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Sean’s clinical locations means he’s a local acupuncturist providing acupuncture in tring, acupuncture in Hemel hempstead, acupuncture in Amersham, acupuncture in Chesham, acupuncture in St Albans, and acupuncture in Aylesbury and surrounding areas. Sean began his studies in Chinese Medicine in 1998, and trained initially in Shiatsu and Tui-na (Chinese medical massage) before going on to complete a degree in acupuncture at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading. Sean is a fully registered member of The British Acupuncture Council, the main governing body for the UK’s 3000 traditional acupuncturists, and practices an integrated Five element and TCM style of acupuncture. These two styles of acupuncture are the main forms of the traditional approaches in use today. Committed to using the most useful aspects of traditional approaches alongside a modern understanding consistent with science, Sean’s interest is in using and understanding acupuncture as a technique of neuro-humoral modulation rather than understanding it solely on traditional terms. Only in this way can acupuncture necessarily evolve in the way it must do to exist comfortably within a modern framework of health and medicine. Sean also writes an acupuncture blog for acupuncturists, patients and anybody interested in the subject. Topics covered included research developments as they happen, different aspects of acupuncture theory and its application, and any associated thoughts and ideas about human health, psychology, medicine and philosophy. Committed to ongoing learning and development Sean is studying Clinical hypnosis which will become part of his clinical repertoire in 2012/2013.