Acupuncture May Reduce Anxiety In Patients With Parkinsons Disease
Research suggests that acupuncture may be able to clinically reduce symptoms of anxiety in this patient population.
Real acupuncture may help to treat anxiety in Parkinson disease patients, according to research published in JAMA Open Network. The study data demonstrated that RA had higher clinical improvement for anxiety than sham acupuncture . RA patients also had a noticeable improvement in quality of life , along with positive effects on their overall condition.
This studys results suggest that acupuncture with clinical monitoring may alleviate anxiety of patients with Parkinson disease, wrote the study authors.
Anxiety affects nearly one third of all PD patients. It is associated with worse wellbeing and can impact other patients who suffer from movement disorders.
The study objective was to explore effective anxiety treatments for PD with minimal adverse effects . Researchers decided to test the efficacy of acupuncture treatment in particular, which had been previously identified to be as effective as certain behavioral therapies. This study is the first randomized clinical trial to assesses acupuncture for the treatment of anxiety in PD patients.
Primary outcome was scored on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale , which evaluates degree of anxiety. From baseline, the mean reduction of the HAM-A score also dropped 4.38 points among RA patients. The mean reduction in HAM-A score was even greater at follow-up at 7.03 points lower than SA patients.
Reference
Acupuncture Is Not A Substitute For Treatment Homeopathy Is Just A Lie This Is What You Need To Know About These Alternative Therapies
First of all, there is no single answer to the question, as acupuncture and homeopathy are two very different fields. Regarding homeopathy, the answer is an emphatic no. People call homeopathy a pseudomedicine or pseudoscience, but in my opinion, the terms medicine or science should not even be part of the definition. What homeopathy does is fool people. Homeopathic compounds contain if after all the dilutions there is still a molecule there at all an infinitesimal amount of the active ingredient. We are talking about the dilution of a dilution of a dilution of an active ingredient. Homeopathy is based on three alleged scientific assumptions, but there is really no science there at all: what is similar cures what is similar in other words, at minuscule doses, a substance that causes symptoms similar to the disease in healthy people will be an effective therapeutic agent in sick people. The second principle is that of dilutions and dynamization.
In conclusion, homeopathic compounds do not cure diseases such as Parkinsons. They rely on the placebo effect and, quite often, on the distress of sick people and their urgency to find a something that will heal them.
Nuria E. Campillo is a senior researcher at the Margarita SalasCenter for Biological Research of the Spanish National Research Council and works on the development of neuropharmaceuticals for diseases such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers or ALS.
Traditional Chinese Medicine And Acupuncture
Traditional Chinese Medicine views disease as caused by internal imbalances. It has historically been used to treat Parkinson disease with acupuncture and individually prepared herbal remedies. One study showed that acupuncture improved symptoms in a small group of people with Parkinson disease. People with Parkinson disease may also find that acupuncture helps them sleep better. If you consult a TCM practitioner, make sure your doctor is aware of any suggested treatment.
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Best Physical And Occupational Therapy Exercises
Physical therapy exercises target your areas of concern. They can help develop your strength, balance, and coordination. Youll also enhance your functional mobility by improving concentration, flexibility, and range of motion.
Occupational therapy exercises are intended to help you perform daily activities related to work, school, or home with greater ease.
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Western Treatments And Unwanted Side Effects
For Western doctors, the most common approach to manage symptoms of Parkinsons disease is through medications. Pharmaceutical drugs that elevate dopamine levels in the brain and control nonmotor symptoms are commonly prescribed. One common medication, levodopa, helps nerve cells produce dopamine. However, levodopa often carries significant side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, restlessness, and low blood pressure, so doctors may also prescribe carbidopa to reduce the severity of these side effects. Should someone stop taking levodopa suddenly, serious side effects may result, such as difficulty breathing or immobilization. Although these drugs may minimize symptoms of Parkinsons disease, many people express concern over these unwanted side effects and the overall impact on their long-term health.
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The Symptoms Of Bradykinesia
The main sign of bradykinesia is unusual slow movements. Though, there are several other signs that are commonly found with bradykinesia patients. These signs include:
difficulty with tasks that are repetitive in nature, like tapping fingers or clapping hands
dragging one or both feet while walking
freezing muscle reactions can slow to a point that the muscles become frozen or immobile, for a while
having difficulty in getting ready every day
having little or no facial expressions
shuffling when walking
Bradykinesia is the major factor that makes those with Parkinsons disease lose their speaking ability. The disorder causes their voice to gradually become softer in time, making their words harder to understand clearly.
What Causes Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsons disease occurs when nerve cells in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra become impaired or die. These cells normally produce dopamine, a chemical that helps the cells of the brain communicate . When these nerve cells become impaired or die, they produce less dopamine. Dopamine is especially important for the operation of another area of the brain called the basal ganglia. This area of the brain is responsible for organizing the brains commands for body movement. The loss of dopamine causes the movement symptoms seen in people with Parkinsons disease.
People with Parkinsons disease also lose another neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. This chemical is needed for proper functioning of the sympathetic nervous system. This system controls some of the bodys autonomic functions such as digestion, heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. Loss of norepinephrine causes some of the non-movement-related symptoms of Parkinsons disease.
Scientists arent sure what causes the neurons that produce these neurotransmitter chemicals to die.
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Efficacy Of Acupuncture For Motor Symptoms
UPDRS III is the most commonly used score for measuring motor performance. An RCT with 15 participants conducted by Lei et al. evaluated improvement in motor performance due to electroacupuncture in 15 participants . They found that electroacupuncture significantly decreased UPDRS scores and improved gait speed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experiment using an objective task for evaluating the effects of acupuncture, which may provide rigorous evidence for evaluation of the efficacy of acupuncture. These results were in accordance with those of other studies by Cho et al. and Lee et al. . Only one study found no efficacy. A meta-analysis by Liu et al. that analyzed two RCTs with 240 participants did not found any efficacy of acupuncture in improving UPDRS scores . Their explanation was that the high heterogeneity influenced the reliability of the results .
Inclusion And Exclusion Criteria
The inclusion criteria were as follows: study types: SRs/MAs in which the participants were patients with PD and were diagnosed according to any internationally recognized clinical guidelines intervention: acupuncture therapy vs. conventional medication or acupuncture therapy combined with conventional medication vs. conventional medication alone outcomes: reviews that assessed the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD as the main outcome measures were considered eligible. Measures of quality of life and activities of daily living were included if they were relevant to the assessment of PD symptoms. Studies were excluded if they used acupuncture alone or combined with other drugs in the control group.
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Paw Prints: Furry Friends Help My Sister Do Life With Pd
Several systematic reviews previously examined the efficacy of acupuncture, but focused mainly on classical and electroacupuncture.
A group of researchers at institutions in Zhengzhou and Guangzhou analyzed trials that evaluated a variety of different types of acupuncture.
Among the different techniques used were traditional body needling, manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture , bee venom acupuncture , and acupressure .
Acupuncture-related therapies included forms like warm needling that is used with moxibustion , and acupoint injection, hydroacupuncture , or herbal decoction, used either with moxibustion or with medications.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials compared acupuncture-related therapies combined with standard treatment versus standard medication alone in Parkinsons patients. Standard medications included Madopar , levodopa, carbidopa, and Mirapex , used alone or in combination.
Data reviewed came from 66 published trials, with 61 selected for the meta-analysis. High-quality articles were defined as those with a low risk of bias in four or more domains. Based on this definition, only 10 articles were considered high quality.
Other outcome measures included assessments of mentation, behavior, and mood , and therapy complications the 39-item Parkinsons Disease Questionnaire , changes in Madopar doses the Mini-Mental State Examination and the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale .
How Might Ayurveda Help
People may use Ayurveda to build and maintain an overall sense of good health and wellbeing.
Although there have been some small studies of Ayurveda, none have been of a good enough quality to prove its effectiveness. Larger, better-designed studies are needed before we can be sure how effective Ayurveda is.
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Acupuncture Eases Anxiety In Parkinson’s Patients
Megan Brooks
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for anxiety in patients with Parkinsons disease , results of a randomized controlled trial show.
Both sham and real acupuncture eased PD-related anxiety at the end of 8-week treatment, but only real acupuncture had an enduring effect at 2 months after treatment ended.
The early effect with sham acupuncture in this Chinese population is not surprising, the researchers point out.
In China, acupuncture is a traditional treatment method with a long history, which has a high degree of cultural identity among Chinese patients, Li-xing Zhuang, PhD, with Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong, China, explained in an email to Medscape Medical News.
Therefore, the patient will typically trust acupuncture as an effective treatment, which leads to the therapeutic effect of the sham needle at the end of the treatment.
However, while acupuncture may produce a placebo effect in a short time, this effect will disappear with time, while the therapeutic effect remains at a stable level, Zhuang said.
Based on our results, acupuncture should be recommended for anxiety in PD, Zhuang added.
The study was published online Sept. 21 in JAMA Network Open.
Is Herbal Medicine Safe
You should always talk to your GP, specialist or Parkinsons nurse before taking herbal medicines or supplements in case they have serious side effects or interfere with your usual medication.
Some herbal medicines shouldnt be taken during pregnancy again, check with your GP.
Make sure your herbal medicine comes from a reliable source. In the past the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has found supplies of contaminated herbs. .
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Ear Acupuncture Needles Vs Acupuncture Ear Seeds
Aside from using ear acupuncture needles, acupuncture ear seeds can also be used for permanent auriculotherapy. Ear seeds are small seeds that can be used to stimulate pressure points in the ear.
Though ear seeds are based on the same general principles as acupuncture, unlike ear acupuncture needles, ear seeds are completely non-invasive and involve sticking the ear seeds to the therapeutic ear points.
Traditionally, ear seeds are tiny, sticky seeds from Vaccaria, a flowering herb. But nowadays, ear seeds are made of metals like silver, gold, or crystals but they come in the form of actual seeds. During treatment, these ear seeds are safely applied to some of the many recognized therapeutic ear points.
Like ear acupuncture, ear seeds can help to handle several health issues, which include:
addiction
chronic pain, especially lower back pain
depression
insomnia and other sleep issues
migraine and other head pain
stress
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Data Preprocessing And Calculations
The fMRI data analyser was also blinded to the group assignment. The resting-state fMRI data preprocessing was performed using DPABI based on MATLAB . After removing the first four volumes of each participant, the functional images were corrected for the intra-volume acquisition time delay using slice-timing and realignment. None of the participants were excluded based on the criteria of displacement > 2 mm or angular rotation > 2° in any direction. All corrected functional data were then normalized to the Montreal Neurological Institute space and resampled to a 3-mm isotropic resolution. The resulting images were further temporally band-pass filtered to remove the effects of low-frequency drift and high-frequency physiological noise. Finally, 24 head-motion parameters, white matter signals, and cerebrospinal fluid signals were regressed using a general linear model, and linear trends were removed from the fMRI data. Spatial smoothing was also performed before the ALFF analysis using a Gaussian filter , but after the ReHo calculation.
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Efficacy Of Acupuncture For Global Evaluation
For global evaluation, we used the total UPDRS score and the Webster Scale. UPDRS is the most widely used scale for evaluation of the PD symptoms. The classic UPDRS has six parts: UPDRS I- mentation, behavior and mood Part IIactivities of daily life Part IIImotor evaluation Part IVcomplications of therapy Part Vstaging of severity of PD and Part VISchwab and England ADL scale. This is a clinician-report scale. Most items have scores ranged from 0 to 4 . The Webster Scale is another commonly used self-report scale, which is briefer than UPDRS. It has 10 items . The scores range from 0 to 3 . We found that all the measurements using the total UPDRS score showed good efficacy of acupuncture, regardless of whether the protocol acupuncture + classical treatment vs. classical treatment or acupuncture vs. classical treatment was used. A meta-analysis by Lee and Lim analyzed seven RCTs with 425 participants and found that the protocol acupuncture + classical treatment showed superior efficacy to classical treatment . These results are similar to those of Liu et al. from 11 RCTs with 831 participants = 1.15 95% CI, 1.63 to 0.67 P< 0.001] , of Noh from five RCTs with 407 participants , and of Lee from two RCTs with 60 participants .
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Acupuncture For Parkinsons Disease
Acupuncture for Parkinsons Disease has been widely recognized as a leading solution for many patients. Parkinsons disease is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Its clinical manifestation of motor symptoms includes bradykinesia, resting tremor, the rigidity of muscles and joints, gait and posture imbalance. Acupuncture can be used as a treatment to help to relieve some of the symptoms of Parkinsons. The non-motor symptoms of PD are found in the vast majority of patients with PD, consisting of autonomic dysfunction, neuropsychiatric disturbance, sleep disorders , gastrointestinal symptoms and many others.
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How Much Does It Cost
If your chosen therapy isnt available on the NHS or HSC, you may have to pay. Costs for complementary therapies will vary, depending on the type of therapy you want, the length of the treatment and where you live.
At your first session the therapist will usually take a medical history and get to know you a bit better. As a result the first session may cost more than any follow-up sessions.
Practitioners usually recommend several treatment sessions. Before committing yourself to a course of treatment, make sure you ask about the cost.
You may also find it useful to ask when you can expect to feel any improvement and when to call it a day if you dont see the results youre hoping for.
Private health insurance may pay for some types of complementary therapy. Before you book a treatment session, ask your insurer if its covered by your policy and how to arrange payment.
Weve heard from many carers who have tried complementary therapies, some with very positive experiences. Again, its a personal choice.
If you care for someone with Parkinsons, its important to look after your own physical and mental health. You may find that complementary therapies are a good way to have time to yourself, reduce stress and do something you enjoy.
In some areas, the NHS, local councils and charities offer free or low-cost therapies to carers. Speak to your GP or a Parkinsons local adviser about whats available in your area.
These 7 Acupressure Points For Parkinsons Disease Help To Alleviate Related Symptoms
Parkinsons is a difficult disease to live with. Its symptoms often result in the need to change daily activities and it can be quite exhausting. Most people either know someone with Parkinsons disease or are experiencing it themselves and yet there is no simple cure. Luckily, there are a variety of effective acupressure points for Parkinsons disease treatment.
This disease is not new, and its ancient nature links it to the power of ancient medicine which is arguably one of the best treatments available, even during modern times. After extensive research about different medications and modern treatments for the onset of Parkinsons, nothing showed as much positive impact as these Parkinsons acupressure points.
Read the points below to learn this simple, free, and effective method for minimizing the symptoms of Parkinsons so you can take your life back.
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Search Methods For Identification Of Studies
The search was performed without restrictions in the language or year of publication. We searched Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from the database inception through August 2015. For Korean publications, we searched 3 Korean medical databases . For Chinese articles, we searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure . A manual search of relevant references from previous systematic reviews was conducted. The keywords used for the search were Parkinsonism or Parkinson’s disease AND acupuncture in each database language. The search strategy was adjusted for each database.