Harvard Med. School study of Acupuncture

Hmm, an unblinded experiment with no control.

Why, oh why, oh why?
 
I didn't see much new in this study to differentiate it from the last
bunch...when you 'activate' certain points that were somehow mapped out long ago, stuff happens, with apparent similarities in reported or observed effect...pain reduction, qi sensations, electromagnetic field changes, and now blood flow in certain parts of the brain...

Still no way to link anything in a manner that demonstrates direct causation.

Paul
 
roger said:
Hmm, an unblinded experiment with no control.

Why, oh why, oh why?
Click to expand...
Quite simple, double-blind procedures with comparative controls yield negative effectiveness results to acupuncture threrapy.

(Quick questions: How are you supposed to blind an acupuncture session?... needles, blinding, the potential humor in this thread just skyrocketed...)
 
Rosen's study "is a very exciting first step," says neurobiologist Richard Hammerschlag of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, but controlled research on pain and addiction patients will be needed to prove the point. Brain scans should be done on patients getting acupuncture at real and bogus points, he says, and patients shouldn't know which group they're in.

The placebo effect is so powerful it could affect blood flow, says UCLA neurobiologist Christopher Evans, a pain expert. There's even some evidence that placebos can increase brain chemicals, such as endorphins, Hammerschlag says.
Click to expand...

They have a ways to go.
What behaviors would it change if they found out all the time and money spent in acupuncture did as much as placebos?
 
"(Quick questions: How are you supposed to blind an acupuncture session?... needles, blinding, the potential humor in this thread just skyrocketed...)"


Michael O'Donoghue aside, I would like to see a proposed design for control needling, since there seems to be disagreement among acupuncture practitioners as to what constitutes proper needling..it is purported to work with pointy rocks, lasers, electrified needles, warm objects, et al....even the point placement seems vague enough to limit that as a control method.

Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom