The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Electroacupuncture to treat obesity

    There are few clinical studies showing the effectiveness of acupuncture for weight loss.

    Here’s one that does.

    165 women assigned to one of 3 treatments.

    • Electroacupuncture performed by using 3 ear and 6 body points
    • Placebo electroacupuncture
    • Diet restriction

    And, the results.

    • There was a 5% reduction in weight of patients with electroacupuncture.
    • By comparison, the women receiving with a diet restriction and placebo electroacupuncture had less than 3% weight reduction.
    • There were significant decreases in phobia, anger, anxiety, obsession, paranoid symptoms, and depression with electroacupuncture compared to the placebo electroacupuncture and diet groups.

    The bottom line?
    Lately, friends have asked about using acupuncture to help them loose weight. The best I can find is that the response to electroacupuncture is modest. And there’s no evidence the response to a course of treatment is long lasting.

    But then, that’s the case for all weight loss treatments.

    9/8/07 23:17 JR

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