Acupuncture good at controlling tension headaches

Posted: 11 Mar 2009 08:37 PM PDT

CM NEWS - A Cochrane review of recent large-scale acupuncture studies suggests that acupuncture could be a valuable option for patients suffering from frequent tension-type headache.

Patients with tension-type headache suffer from episodes of pain which is typically bilateral (affects both sides of the head), pressing or tightening in quality, mild to moderate in intensity, and which does not worsen with routine physical activity.

In most patients tension-type headache occurs infrequently and there is no need for further treatment beyond over-the-counter pain killers. In some patients, however, tension-type headache occurs on several days per month or even daily. Acupuncture is a therapy in which thin needles are inserted into the skin at defined points; it originates from China. Acupuncture is used in many countries for tension-type headache prophylaxis - that is, to reduce the frequency and intensity of tension-type headaches.

In this review, the researchers want to investigate whether acupuncture is a) more effective than no prophylactic treatment/routine care only; b) more effective than ’sham’ (placebo) acupuncture; and c) as effective as other interventions in reducing headache frequency in patients with episodic or chronic tension-type headache.

The review is spearheaded by researchers at the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, at Technische Universitaet Muenchen in Germany.

Acupuncture studies were selected in this review based on randomized trials with a post-randomization observation period of at least 8 weeks that compared the clinical effects of an acupuncture intervention with a control (treatment of acute headaches only or routine care), a sham acupuncture intervention or another intervention in patients with episodic or chronic tension-type headache.

11 trials with 2317 participants (median 62, range 10 to 1265) met the inclusion criteria. Two large trials compared acupuncture to treatment of acute headaches or basic care (which usually involves only treating unbearable pain with pain killers) only. Both found that those patients who received acupuncture had fewer headaches. 47% of patients receiving acupuncture reported a decrease in the number of headache days by at least 50%, compared to 16% of patients in the control groups.

In addition, 6 trials compared acupuncture with a sham or “fake” acupuncture (needles were either inserted at incorrect points or did not penetrate the skin) intervention, and 5 of the 6 provided data for meta-analyses. Small but statistically significant benefits of acupuncture over sham were found for response as well as for several other outcomes. 3 of the 4 trials comparing acupuncture with physiotherapy, massage or relaxation had important methodological or reporting shortcomings.

50% of patients receiving true acupuncture reported a decrease of the number of headache days by at least 50%, compared to 41% of patients in the groups receiving inadequate or ‘fake’ acupuncture. Three of the four trials in which acupuncture was compared to physiotherapy, massage or relaxation had important methodological shortcomings.

Their findings are difficult to interpret, the researchers say, but collectively suggest slightly better results for some outcomes with the latter therapies.The researchers conclude that the available evidence suggests that acupuncture could be a valuable option for patients suffering from frequent tension-type headache.

[Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 1, 2009; DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007587]
Chinese Medicine News
(74.125.44.136) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. Tags: acupuncture, headache

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CM NEWS - A Cochrane review of recent large-scale acupuncture studies suggests that acupuncture could be a valuable option for patients suffering from frequent tension-type headache. Patients with tension-type headache suffer from episodes of pain which is typically bilateral (affects both sides of the head), pressing or tightening in quality, mild to moderate in intensity, and

Iron induces death in tumour cells

Posted: 11 Mar 2009 07:54 PM PDT

DKFZ -A group of German scientists have discovered that increased iron levels in lymphoma cells could release free oxygen radicals, and eventually induce cancer cell death.

Tumour cells and healthy cells differ considerably in metabolism intensity. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have taken advantage of this difference: By releasing cellular iron they were able to induce death selectively in tumour cells.

Iron pills

Rapid growth of cancer cells and their frequent divisions have their price: Cancer cells need considerably more energy than healthy cells. Their metabolism runs at full speed and requires large amounts of micronutrients, particularly iron. However, high levels of iron in the cell lead to the production of extremely harmful free radicals. To protect itself from these, the cell inactivates free iron by binding it to what are called iron storage proteins.

Collaborating with physicians of the Dermatology Department of Mannheim University Hospitals, Dr. Karsten Gülow and Professor Dr. Peter Krammer, head of the Division of Immunogenetics at DKFZ, investigated Sézary’s disease (also called Sézary syndrome), an extremely aggressive type of cutaneous T cell lymphoma. The majority of currently available treatments are not really effective against this fatal type of cancer.

Using a molecular-biological trick, Gülow and colleagues succeeded in blocking the production of one of the iron storage proteins in lymphoma cells. This leads to a rise in the level of free, non-bound iron in these cells. The iron boosts the production of free oxygen radicals which cause oxidative stress and, thus, cause damage to the cancer cells and induce their death. Healthy cells with their low iron level, however, survive the treatment unharmed.
The DKFZ researchers have already found evidence that this iron effect also works in other lymphomas. They are now investigating whether selective release of iron may be a suitable approach for developing a novel cancer treatment.

What is oxidative stress? Your body constantly reacts with oxygen as you breathe and your cells produce energy. As a consequence of this activity, highly reactive molecules are produced known as free radicals.

Free radicals interact with other molecules within cells. This can cause oxidative damage to proteins, membranes and genes.

Oxidative damage has been implicated in the cause of many diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s and has an impact on the body’s aging process.

Michael K. Kiessling, Claus D. Klemke, Marcin M. Kamiñski, Ioanna E. Galani, Peter H. Krammer, and Karsten Gülow: Inhibition of constitutively activated NF-κB induces ROS- and iron dependent cell death in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

[Cancer Research 2009; DOI:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-3221]
Chinese Medicine News
(74.125.44.136) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. Tags: cancer, iron, lymphoma

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DKFZ -A group of German scientists have discovered that increased iron levels in lymphoma cells could release free oxygen radicals, and eventually induce cancer cell death. Tumour cells and healthy cells differ considerably in metabolism intensity. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have taken advantage of this difference: By releasing cellular iron

http://chinesemedicinenews.com/2009/03/11/acupuncture-good-at-control-te...

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