Abstract
Depression and anxiety together constitute a significant contribution to the global
burden of disease. Acupuncture is widely used for treatment of anxiety and depression
and use is increasing. The theoretical basis for acupuncture diagnosis and treatment
derives from traditional Chinese medicine theory. An alternative approach is used
in medical acupuncture which relies more heavily on contemporary neurophysiology and
conventional diagnosis. Trials in depression, anxiety disorders and short-term acute
anxiety have been conducted but acupuncture interventions employed in trials vary
as do the controls against which these are compared. Many trials also suffer from
small sample sizes. Consequently, it has not proved possible to accurately assess
the effectiveness of acupuncture for these conditions or the relative effectiveness
of different treatment regimens. The results of studies showing similar effects of
needling at specific and non-specific points have further complicated the interpretation
of results. In addition to measuring clinical response, several clinical studies have
assessed changes in levels of neurotransmitters and other biological response modifiers
in an attempt to elucidate the specific biological actions of acupuncture. The findings
offer some preliminary data requiring further investigation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 8,
2010
Received in revised form:
April 7,
2010
Received:
December 2,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.