CLINICAL APPLICATION OF ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY

In the present paper, the authors review some major effects of acupuncture in the treatment of clinical diseases and sum up some results of experimental researches on the mechanisms of acupuncture. Up to now, clinical practice and experimental researches demonstrate that acupuncture possesses good analgesic effect, integrative regulation effect on the functional activities of the body and defense-immune-potentiation effect.

Acupuncture for 40 cases of spasmodic torticollis

Objective To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of professor WU Lian-zhong＇s ＂resuscitation and regulating muscle＂ acupuncture method for spasmodic torticollis（ST） based on syndrome differentiation,and to compare the efficacy of acupuncture treatment between the patients with spasmodic torticollis who were not given botulinum toxin A by injection and the patients given botulinum toxin A by injection.Methods Forty patients were divided into treatment group（not given botulinum toxin A by injection） and control group（given botulinum toxin A by injection）,with 20 patients in each group.＂Resuscitation and regulating muscle＂ acupuncture method was adopted in both two groups,and the treatment lasted for 6 months.The clinical efficacy in both two groups was compared after treatment.Tsui＇s Scale was applied to evaluate the overall effect,the abnormal posture of cervical spine and dystonic tremor.Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale（TWSTRS） was used for scoring the severity of torticollis,quality of life and pain.Results After treatment,the markedly effective rate and the total effective rate in treatment group were 35.0% and 90.0%,respectively,which were superior to those in control group,namely 20.0% and 75.0%,and the efficacy difference was statistically significant for the total effective rate（P0.05）.It was shown according to the Tsui＇s Scale and TWSTRS that the differences were statistically significant when compared the two groups before and after treatment（all P0.01）;the difference of intergroup comparison after treatment was statistically significant（P0.05）.No adverse effect was found in both two groups during acupuncture treatment.Conclusion ＂Resuscitation and regulating muscle＂ acupuncture method can effectively improve the clinical symptoms of ST patients,and better efficacy is found in the patients not given botulinum toxin A by injection.The course of treatment of acupuncture treatment for torticollis patients is longer,and the patients should insist on treatment,and keep a good attitude.

Mast Cell-Derived Exosomes at the Stimulated Acupoints Activating the Neuro-immune Regulation

Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles that take part in intercellular signaling. Research has shown that acupuncture is closely related to affecting the functions of the mast cells in the local region of the acupoint, and stimulating the afferent nerve. Mast cells have a connection with the conduction within the meridians, and play an important role in immuno-regulation. The ＇synapse-like＇ connection between the mast cells and nerve endings is the basis for the exchange of information between these two tissues. Exosome mediates mast exchange of information between mast cells and the nerves, starting the process of neuro-immuno regulation. Therefore, we propose that mast cell-derived exosomes mediate the neuro-immuno regulation at the local site of acupuncture, and this is one of the key factors resulting in the effectiveness of acupuncture.

Acupuncture Principle of Tonifying Qi and Regulating Blood,Supporting the Root and Fostering the Source on Aging and Senile Diseases

Along with the increasing life span, aging and related diseases have become a serious medical and social problem that has roused global attention. In this paper, under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）, the author raises a theory of ＂dysfunction of Sanjiao qi activity＂ based on the studies and discussions of classical literatures on Sanjiao theory by combining knowledge in modern integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine for aging from his more than 30 years of experiences of clinical and experimental practices. The author also tries to explain the mechanisms for aging from the whole aspect of Sanjiao qi activity.

Distribution of licensed acupuncturists and educational institutions in the United States in early 2015

In recent decades, acupuncture has been used more widely and extensively in the United States （U.S.）. However, there have been no national surveys or analyses reported in academic journals on the number of practicing or licensed acupuncturists, This study was conducted to identify the approximate number of licensed acupuncturists active in 2015. The Board of Acupuncture or Board of Medicine in each state or U.S. territory was contacted to collect data, Online license information searching was also performed in order to get accurate numbers of licensed acupuncturists for those states in which a board was unable to be contacted. The study found that the number of licensed acupuncturists in 2015 in the U,S, was 34,481. Of this, more than 50% were licensed in three states alone： California （32.39%）, New York （11,89%） and Florida （7.06%）. The number of licensed acupuncturists increased 23.30% and 52.09%, compared to the year 2009 （n = 27,965） and 2004 （n = 22,671）, respectively; increasing about 1,266 per year. There were 62 and 10 accredited acupuncture institutions providing master and doctoral degrees, respectively. The West Coast comprised 51.39% of degree granting programs, while the East Coast comprised 29.17%; together the coastal states housed more than 80% of all programs, with the remainder sprinkled across the southern （9.72%）, northern （8.33%）, and the middle/central states （1.39%）. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia regulated acupuncture practice by law at the time of data collection. Acupuncture continues to be a quickly growing profession in the U.S,