I was very touched by G. Michael Reynold's account of losing his first patient and I wanted to share it. I know people who are as ill as his patient.

You can read the whole post, O Death, at Deepest Health blog, http://deepesthealth.com/2010/o-death/.

"I lost my first patient recently, on the very doorstep of Autumn. He was literally my first patient, the first person ever to come to me for help. His condition was grave even from the beginning. Chronic renal failure, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy that required a subcutaneous morphine pump in his side in order to bear the constant agony, wheelchair bound, legs swollen and edematous, skin unnaturally black, heart failing. Friendly, personable, courageous. He got into this shape via diabetes, during which his 5'9″ frame was forced to support over 300 lbs of weight, now shrunken to around 150 lbs. As a first patient, this was very much being tossed into the deep end of the pool and finding out if you could swim.

I was confident we could get him off dialysis, which he needed three times per week. I told him as much. I had access to nearly unlimited stores of Fu Zi and I knew how to use it. The fact that his radial arteries were so devastated from constant dialysis that I couldn't get a pulse didn't especially deter me, nor did the fact that he could only take in a few ounces of liquid per day, nor did the fact that he spent pretty much every waking hour hustling from one MD to the next to get this procedure or that test or these medications. In Chinese Medicine did I trust, and I would do my best."

read the rest of this long article at Deepest Health blog
 
What is Deepest Health site all about? Deepest Health is a center for education and connection around one broad topic - Chinese Medicine. Contributors to this website are united in their desire to see that relevant, vital and Classically based information about Chinese medicine be available to students, practitioners and interested members of the public.

Experiments in volunteers confirm that electroacupuncture applying electrical current to acupuncture needles has pain-reducing effects, reports a study in the September (2009) issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

The results also lend new insights into how long treatments should be for greatest effectiveness. "We conclude that the optimal duration for asynchronous electroacupuncture stimulation is 30 minutes," write Dr. Shu-Ming Wang and colleagues of Yale School of Medicine.

Electricity Applied to Acupuncture Raises Pain Thresholds

In the technique of asynchronous electroacupuncture, a small electrical current is applied to needles inserted into acupuncture points, alternating between low- and high-frequency stimulation. Electroacupuncture is thought to provide pain-relieving benefits beyond those of traditional acupuncture. However, it has been unclear how long electrical stimulation should be applied to achieve the best pain response.

In the study, volunteers underwent needle placement at acupuncture sites in the lower leg. Cold was then applied, and the temperature at which the cold sensation turned into pain was compared for different durations of electroacupuncture up to 40 minutes.

Volunteers receiving electroacupuncture applied for 30 minutes experienced the least pain, compared to those receiving 20 or 40 minutes of electroacupuncture (or no electroacupuncture at all). Subjects receiving electroacupuncture for 30 minutes were able to tolerate significantly colder temperatures before sensing pain. Furthermore, the reduced pain response lasted for at least an hour after the end of electroacupuncture.

Acupuncture techniques, including electroacupuncture, have become widely used in clinical pain management. However, more research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of electroacupuncture and the best ways to take advantage of its analgesic effects.

The new results suggest that 30 minutes is the optimal time for application of electroacupuncture: 20 minutes is not long enough, and 40 minutes is too long. "

A study published in the journal Pain shows promise for arthritis relief.

According to the abstract:

"Forty patients of either sex over 40 years with primary osteoarthritis knee were recruited into a single-blinded, sham-controlled study. For electro-acupuncture group the points were selected according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Meridian Theory. In the sham group needles were inserted at random points away from true acupoints and no current was passed. Both groups were treated for 10 days with one session every day lasting for 20-25 min. Pre- and post-treatment Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) index of osteoarthritis knee and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain were recorded and blood samples were taken for the measurement of plasma cortisol and β-endorphin levels. 

Following electro-acupuncture treatment there was a significant improvement in WOMAC index and VAS (p = 0.001), a significant rise in plasma β-endorphin (p = 0.001), and a significant fall in plasma cortisol (p = 0.016). In conclusion electro-acupuncture resulted in an improvement in pain, stiffness and disability. Of clinical importance is that an improvement in objective measures of pain and stress/pain associated biomarkers was shown above that of a sham treatment; hence demonstrating acupuncture associated physiological changes beyond that of the placebo effects."

Abstract: Pain December 15, 2009

I found this entry at TCM Student http://www.tcmstudent.com/main/Electro-acupuncture%20May%20Relieve%20Osteoarthritis%20of%20the%20Knee.html

Electro-acupuncture 

Acupuncture on the Big Screen

By Sara Calabro, LAc

9000 Needles is bringing acupuncture to the masses. The documentary follows Devin Dearth, a 40-year-old former bodybuilder, to China, where he is treated with acupuncture after suffering a massive stroke.

The film made a splash at several of last year's film festivals, including the Gotham Independent Film Awards, where it was a finalist. It was directed by Devin's brother, Doug Dearth, whose frustrations with the U.S. health insurance industry during his brother's recovery inspired him to research international options. He spent three-and-a-half months filming in Tianjian, China, where Devin participated in an affordable, comprehensive stroke rehabilitation program that included frequent acupuncture treatments.9000 Needles tells a unifying story of how Devin's family and local community put aside preconceived notions about medicine to embrace the solution that offered their loved one the most benefit.

Doug Dearth recently spoke with me about filming his brother's journey and how he hopes it will improve perceptions and accessibility of acupuncture in the U.S.

I always assumed that the doctors there would speak very metaphysically or philosophically, like there was something mysterious behind acupuncture. But talking with them was the same as talking to any neurologist here in the U.S. They were very medically sound in their opinions. All of their explanations of how the medicine works were based in science and medicine.

One of your initial drivers in making this film was highlighting the shortcomings of the U.S. insurance system. What is your mission for the film going forward?

It's two-fold: to gain awareness for acupuncture and then to allow that to improve accessibility. Better accessibility means that insurance companies support patients who choose this kind of care, and also that the mainstream medical community really accepts this as a viable treatment that should be integrated into our medical system. It makes nothing but sense for a stroke program to integrate acupuncture. There are no side effects; it can only help.

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=32343

Read the whole article at Acupuncture Today

Acupuncture was first invented by Chinese thousands years ago, and whoever studies acupuncture must have learned the legendabout China's "Bronze Men of Acupuncture" (针灸铜人).

Bronze Men are statues of man made of bronze in life size. They were created in Song Dynasty and then kidnapped by Jin tribesmen invaded China from north, and then cloned in full during Ming Dynasty, and then copied again, but with empty facade only containing no contents within, since the modern technology in some certain fields are not as advanced as that during China's Song and Ming eras.

It is said that in the time of Song dynasty, acupuncture treatment was extremely popular, and doctors with needle skills were in high demand, which attracted many less qualified practitioners to try their hand and resulted increased incidents of mistreatment. When Emperor Renzong (宋仁宗赵祯) learned the massy situation, he ordered to issue the national standard for acupuncture point locations. Thus in the year 1026, Dr Wang Weiyi (王惟一), a chief medical officer, complied New Standard Acupuncture Points Diagrams (《新铸铜人腧穴针灸图经》), and one year later a pair of life-sized bronze men with 365 acupoints on the body were crafted.

The bronze men measured 1.73 tall in standing posture with both palms facing the viewer. The whole body was assembled from front and back two parts and could be dismantled to see the bones, muscles and organs inside - evidently China's anatomic medicine was developed at least 800 years earlier than that in the West. The acupoints on the bronze men are meticulously explained in New Standard Acupuncture Points Diagramswhich was carved onto a dozen of stone tablets to make sure the contents would never be destroyed.

Initially one of the bronze men was kept in government-run medical college (医官院) used for training, and the other was housed in the Hall of Benevolent Relieve (仁济殿) of the Buddhist monastery Great Premier Temple (大相国寺) at capital Dongjing (东京) in today's Kaifeng (开封), Henan Province (河南). Since then, the medical students needed to pass the strict test on the bronze man before receiving a licence to practice acupuncture.

Prior to each test, all the acupoints on the bronze man would be sealed by honey wax and made invisible. During the examination, a teacher uttered the name of a point and the student had to prick the needle into the corresponding acupoint. If he hit the right spot, a few drops of liquid would be discharged; and if the student struck the right pints for five consecutive times, he would pass the test and became a full licensed doctor.

The secret to the un-exhausted effluent liquid lies in the dual-layer structure of the bronze men's body, so the liquid could be re-filled through a hole at the top of the skull that was covered with a hair bun.

Sadly, the national treasure was looted a century later by tribesmen Jin of Siberian origin, the ancestors of the later Manchurians, and so far no one knows their fate.

Several hundred years after when Chinese drove out the invaded culture destroyers and once again united the whole China under the banner of great Ming, bronze men were recreated in large quantities. Even though centuries later the Manchurians returned, one bronze man made during the Ming did survive to this day and currently is reported to be on public exhibition in China's Intangible Cultural Heritage Show (中国非物质文化遗产传统技艺大展) held at Beijing National Agriculture Exhibition Centre (农业展览馆).

Over the years, Mr Wan Li (万俐), a conservation expert in Nanjing Museum, has crafted 6 bronze men with acupints on the skin, including the one for an acupuncture clinic in Germany, but none of them has recreated the technique wonder that is reflected in the production of the bronze men of the Song and the Ming. To start with, the coating of the Ming bronze men, that gives the skin a healthy sun-tanning appearance, contains some special Chinese medicine materials, and these materials are no longer available today.

(Rerefence: 科技日报)  Source: http://multipletext.com/2009/4_bronze_man.htm