Comments on: Acupuncture’s molecular effects pinned down

By: Josh Wolrich

Josh Wolrich — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:47:19 +0000

Here’s another link which sums it all up quite well!

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=5452

By: Mick Vagg

Mick Vagg — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:25:28 +0000

There is a heap of work by researchers doing actual science regarding how pain and other nervous information is processed by the deep soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments and bones. This type of acupuncture ‘research’ is merely replicating what we already know but adding a layer of mysticism and idealism which is completely unnecessary to explain the known facts. For the record, proponents claim that it works by ‘directing’ the flow of ‘chi energy’ which can mysteriously get ‘blocked’ or ‘imbalanced’. This study is like discovering that trains can be used to move people from one location to another, and claiming it is evidence of teleportation !

By: unmevsworld

unmevsworld — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:56:44 +0000

David, thanks for the link. And here’s a quote from the end of that link:

The paper notes that the authors have no competing financial interests that might have affected their work. However, it is worth noting that one of the co-authors, Jurgen Schnermann, is married to one Josephine Briggs. Briggs is the director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

By: Danny

Danny — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:23:11 +0000

Bahaha. “I shall have words with them later”

By: Elephant's Child

Elephant's Child — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:03:36 +0000

Doesn’t this mean, as I have always suspected that acupuncture is just a variation on that old playground joke;
“I have a cure for headaches.”
When they ask what it is, you stamp on their foot.

By: David Colquhoun

David Colquhoun — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:02:50 +0000

Oh for heavens sake, this second-rate bit of research has already been dissected by Ed Yong, here http://bit.ly/97gN8d

Nature Neuroscience should be ashamed of itself

This post has served one useful function though. I’d never come across http://www.physorg.com/. Despite its sciencey sounding name and appearance, it seems to be devoted largely devoted to promoting woo,

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:56:37 +0000

It’s probably worth pointing out that this experiment isn’t evidence that acupuncture works in the way acupuncturists say it does.

For a start it’s in mice. That’s one you should always look out for, especially when a story’s in the Mail.

Previous studies have shown that sham acupuncture (such as retracting needles that don’t penetrate the skin) works just as well as real acupuncture. They’ve also shown that it doesn’t matter whether the needle penetrates a meridian point or not, so it’s nothing to do with Qi, meridian channels, blocking the vital force or anything like that. The release of adenosine can also be triggered using other stimuli, causing the same pain relief.

You should also weigh the pain relief it can provide against the risk of infection from the needle.