Clinical Acupuncture, Scientific Basis

There is a large increase in interest in acupuncture by health care consumers. The three main reasons for this are medical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and the credibility that clinical trials and physiological research have provided. Acupuncture is rapidly moving out of the arena of "alternative" medicine, in large part again because it is grounded more firmly than other alternative treatments in research. The book provides the reader with the up-to-date information on the clinical bases of acupuncture.

Table of contents

Review of Neurophysiological Research.- Mechanisms of Acupuncture Analgesia Produced by Low-frequency Electrical Stimulation of Acupuncture Points.- Endogenous Opioid and Anti-opioid Peptides: A Model for Yin-Yang Balance in Acupuncture Mechanisms.- The Past, Present and Future of Meridian System Research.- Functional Magnetic Imaging of the Brain in the Investigation of Acupuncture.- Neurophysiological Basis of Auricular Acupuncture.- Assessing Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture: What has been learned from Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture Trials?.- An Overview of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Stroke, Addiction and Other Health Problems.- Getting the Story, Feeling the Facts: Qualitative Research Methods for Oriental Medicine.- Proposed Standards of Acupuncture Treatment for Clinical Studies.- Considerations for Designing Future Acupuncture Trials.- Future Directions in Physiological Research.