Acupuncture Could Have a Role in Alleviating COPD

A new study suggests that chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) patients treated with acupuncture had less shortness of breath during exercise, compared with those who received a placebo treatment.

Researchers at Kyoto University (Japan) conducted a randomized, three-year, placebo-controlled trial involving 68 patients from the Kansai region of Japan who were randomly assigned to traditional acupuncture (34 patients) or placebo acupuncture (34 patients), receiving real or placebo needling at the same acupoints once a week for 12 weeks. Patients, evaluators, and statistician were unaware of the random allocation. The primary end point was modified Borg scale dyspnea on exertion (DOE) score, evaluated immediately after a six-minute walk test.

The results showed that after 12 weeks, the Borg scale score after the six-minute walk test was significantly better in the real acupuncture group compared with the placebo acupuncture group. Patients with COPD who received real acupuncture also experienced improvement in exercise tolerance and reduced DOE, as reflected by the six-minute walk distance during exercise, which improved by 19.4 meters on average in the treatment group, whereas those in the placebo group had lost 63.5 meters. The study was published early online on May 14, 2012, in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“All patients were on standard medications and, although there was no significant difference between groups, it is possible that there was some synergistic effect between drugs and acupuncture,” concluded lead author Masao Suzuki, PhD, of the department of respiratory medicine, and colleagues. “As well, it is possible that the attitude of the acupuncturists might have given patients and investigators some clues about study assignments.”

Acupuncture is an alternative medicine methodology originating in ancient China that treats patients by manipulating thin, solid needles inserted into acupuncture points in the skin. According to traditional Chinese medicine, stimulating these points can correct imbalances in the flow of qi through channels known as meridians. Scientific research, however, has not found any histological or physiological correlates for qi, meridians, or acupuncture points.

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Kyoto University