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

    Is there a role for acupuncture in functional gastrointestinal disease?

    Doctors use the word “functional” to describe symptoms or problems when they can find no anatomical abnormality.

    Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston reviewed the evidence using acupuncture and electro acupuncture.

    First, the details.

    • A literature search included conditions affecting the esophagus to the colon
    • These included gastrointestinal motility and the functional diseases related to specific motility disorders.

    And, the results.

    • The effects of acupuncture or electro acupuncture on gastrointestinal motility were fairly consistent.
    • The major acupuncture points used in these studies were ST36 and PC6.
    • Gastric motility has been studied mostly.
    • Much less information is available on the effect of electro acupuncture on small and large intestinal motility or related disorders.
    • Several clinical studies have been published on the therapeutic effects of electro acupuncture in functional gastrointestinal diseases, such as gastroesophageal reflux, functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome.

    The bottom line?

    “However, the findings of these clinical studies were inconclusive,” concluded the authors.

    5/1/10 20:59 JR

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