Acupuncture and Sham Treatment Relieve Headaches
British Medical Journal (July 2005)

In a study of 270 people, both acupuncture and sham treatment cut the rates of headaches by nearly half. Researchers compared traditional acupuncture, minimal acupuncture in which the needles were inserted superficially in the skin, and no treatment. Individuals in the two acupuncture groups received 12 sessions, each spread over an eight-week period. The number of days with headache decreased by 7.2 in the traditional acupuncture group, compared with 6.6 in the minimal acupuncture group. Individuals in the control group experienced only 1.5 fewer days with headaches. The researchers pointed out that minimal acupuncture, defined as “superficial needling at non-acupuncture points” and considered a sham treatment, was nearly as effective as traditional acupuncture.

Researchers tested acupuncture against treatments in which needles were improperly applied for 12 weeks in 100 patients suffering from fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by chronic pain in the head and torso. The study concluded that adding acupuncture to other treatments the patients were already using provided no greater pain relief than sham acupuncture. The sham acupuncture included needles inserted at points for treating another condition, needles inserted at points that were not acupuncture points, and use of special needlelike devices that did not pierce the skin. Patients improved in all the study groups, but improved very early (after only one or two treatments), far earlier than most acupuncturists would expect an improvement.

Acupuncture Reduces Pain in Arthritic Knees                    

The Lancet (July 9, 2005)

This study randomly assigned 294 people with osteoarthritis of the knee to 12 acupuncture treatments, fake acupuncture, or a waiting list. They could continue taking painkilling, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs if needed. About one-third of the participants had been treated previously with acupuncture. After eight weeks, knee pain and stiffness had decreased to half its original level in 52 percent of the acupuncture group, 28 percent of the fake acupuncture group, and three percent of those on the waiting list. Use of painkillers dropped much more in the two acupuncture groups, compared with the waiting list group. Six months after treatment stopped, the differences in pain and motion had disappeared. Eighty-eight percent of the participants indicated that they believed acupuncture would help their condition, which may have affected their ratings.

Diminishing Pain Through Guided Imagery                  

Pain Management Nursing (July 14, 2005)

The purpose of this study was to determine how verbal descriptions of pain changed with the use of a guided imagery technique. Participants in the treatment group used guided imagery over a consecutive four-day period, and those in the control group were monitored. Verbal descriptions of pain were obtained before randomization and at four daily intervals. Six categories emerged from the data: pain is never-ending, pain is relative, pain is explainable, pain is torment, pain is restrictive, and pain is changeable. For participants in the treatment group, pain became changeable. The meaning of pain as never-ending remained a strong theme for participants in the control group but did not resurface for participants in the treatment group.

New England Journal of Medicine (July 27, 2005)

Echinacea or purple coneflower is one of the most popular medicinal herbs used by people to treat colds. In a study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers recruited 399 healthy persons who received one of three laboratory-made Echinacea plant extracts or a dummy preparation. The patients were then exposed to the cold virus and their symptoms were evaluated. No differences were found in infection rates between the groups who received the herb or placebo. About 90 percent in both groups became infected. Symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, and sore throat were also about the same, with more than half in both groups showing classic signs of a cold.

Medicine (July 2005)

This study cast doubt on the effectiveness of kava and valerian root, two popular herbal supplements. Kava, commonly used for anxiety, and valerian, commonly used for insomnia, both worked as well as an inactive placebo when administered to 391 persons. Anxiety scores decreased by 25 percent for patients taking a placebo, versus 21 percent for people taking either kava or valerian. Effects on insomnia were about the same, with both the placebo and the herbal remedies decreasing scores by about 50 percent. Based on the findings, the researchers conclude that any symptom improvement “may not be attributed to the biological effects of kava or valerian, and if attributable, are no greater than the effect of placebo.”

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association        (July/August 2005)

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (August 2005)

To determine whether the use of atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine and risperidone) is associated with a lower risk of falls than the use of typical antipsychotics, a study with one-month follow-up was conducted in residential aged care facilities in Sydney, Australia. Medication use at baseline was collected from medical records of 2,005 people aged 65 to 104. Data were also collected through interviews and physical examinations. Fifty-five percent of residents were prescribed at least one type of psychotropic medication, with 14 percent given an antipsychotic.  The outcome was one or more accidental falls. Eleven percent of residents had at least one fall during follow-up. Despite fewer side effects, atypical antipsychotic medications were not associated with fewer falls than the older, more established antipsychotics. Antidepressants also were associated with falls.

Improving Use of Hospice

Journal of the American Medical Association (July 2005)

Nursing home residents are more likely to enter hospice care when they receive information about facilities specializing in end-of-life care. Researchers interviewed 205 nursing home residents or the people who made decisions for them, to help identify those who would benefit from entering hospices. A total of 107 residents were given an informational visit describing hospice care and the remaining 98 residents received usual care. One out of every five (20 percent) who received the informational visit entered hospice within the next 30 days, compared to only one person (1 percent) among those who received usual care. Intervention residents had fewer hospital admissions and their families rated the residents’ care higher in quality than did families of usual care residents.

American Journal of Public Health (July 1, 2005)

The more time paid caregivers spend with residents, the less caregivers are likely to be injured. Researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of Maryland examined injury and staffing data for three American states. For each additional hour of care provided, injury rates for nurses and nurses’ aides fell by nearly 16 percent. In other words, for every unit increase in staffing, worker injury rates decreased by two injuries per 100 full-time workers. Findings were consistent across states, despite differences in data collection, classification of injuries, and reporting procedure.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (July 2005)

A U.S. government report highlights aspects of nursing homes that have changed since 1977. The increase in the number of residents served by nursing homes was accompanied by an increase in the size of the typical nursing home; an increase in the number of discharges and the discharge rate; and a decline in the average length of stay. The proportion of long-stay residents in nursing homes has not changed substantially, while the movement in and out of nursing homes by patients staying less than three months has grown considerably. The number of residents receiving care increased from 1.28 million in 1977 to 1.63 million in 1999, a 27 percent increase. The 16,200 nursing homes in 1977 had an average of 79 beds per facility, an average that grew to 105 among the 18,000 homes in 1999, an increase of 32 percent. See the report at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nnhsd/NursingHomes1977_99.pdf.

Low-Fat Reduces Cancer Recurrence                     

American Society of Clinical Oncology (May 16, 2005)

A study by the Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study showed that a group of women who followed a low-fat diet after receiving early treatment for breast cancer reduced their risk for recurrence by 24 percent. This study tracked two groups of women aged 48 to 79 for five years who had received treatment for early breast cancers. One group received nutrition counseling to learn how to reduce their fat consumption, while the other group was told about healthful eating without fat reduction. The first group decreased the fat in their diets from about 29 percent of calories to about 20 percent, eating an average of close to 33 grams of fat a day.  The second group averaged about 51 grams daily. To read more about this study, log on to http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002643-00_18-0034-00_19-0031414,00.asp.

Japanese Women Set Longevity Record Again
Reuters (July 22, 2005)

Japanese women had a life expectancy of 85.59 years in 2004, making them the world’s longest-lived for the twentieth consecutive year, according to the Japanese government. Japanese men trailed with a life expectancy of 78.64 years, which placed them second in terms of longevity after Icelandic men, who live an average of 78.8 years. The government attributes Japanese longevity to a range of factors, including a healthy diet and improving medical care. The Japanese diet tends to be rich in vegetables and fish and relatively low in animal fats.

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