Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects: how fast does acupuncture work?

iii Resumo . v List of Tables . ix List of Figures . xi Abbreviations . xiii Preface . xv Chapter 1. Motivation and Objectives . 1 References . 7 Chapter 2. Thesis Overview . 9 Chapter 3. Assessment of short-term acupuncture effects through electro-dermal conductivity variation. 13 Introduction . 15 Materials and Methods . 16 Ethics Statement . 16 Participants . 16 Exclusion Criteria . 16 Research procedure . 17 Experimental phases . 19 Hypotheses and statistical tests . 20 Results . 21 Discussion . 22 Conclusions . 23 References . 24 Chapter 4. Shortening the recovery time of lesions in dental medicine – A case report. 27 Introduction . 29 Methods . 29 Acupuncture protocol . 30 Results . 31 Discussion . 32 Conclusions . 33 References . 34 Chapter 5. Research in acupuncture’s short-term effects & Future Perspectives . 37 Supporting Information . 41 Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects viii Ribeiro DC – Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine Appendix I – Details of normalized frequencies for SMD of both control and experimental group . 43 Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects ix Ribeiro DC Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine List of Tables Table 3.1 – Measured REPP for all channels and corresponding punctured Luo points (experimental group only) if valid split-meridian was detected. _________________________________________ 18 Table 3.2 – Results of the analysis of deviance performed with the linear mixed model fitted to SMD data. DF=Degrees of freedom. ______________________________________________________ 22 Table 4.1 – Acupuncture points used to treat anesthesia/paresthesia sensation in chin and lower lip in the present study case. ____________________________________________________________ 31 Table S1 – Control and experimental group results: Normalized frequency values of the control and experimental groups, concerning the split-meridian differences (0<SMD<35+) for the three measurement moments of the experiment (M1 – phase 2, M2 – phase 4 and M3 – phase 5). _____ 43 Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects x Ribeiro DC – Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects xi Ribeiro DC Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine List of Figures Figure 3.1 – Trial participants age distribution: Age distribution of volunteer participants (F – female, M – Male, T – Total participants) in the present study. The minimum and maximum age all of the participants were 19 yrs to 59 yrs. , being the 1st quartile: 22.5 yrs, median: 25.5 yrs and 3rd quartile: 36 yrs. __________________________________________________________________ 16 Figure 3.2 – Schematic presentation of equipment: Ryodoraku measuring equipment representation. Stationary electrode is held in left hand of patients while the measuring electrode contacts the REPP with the cotton tip embedded in saline solution. __________________________ 17 Figure 3.3 – Possible scenarios during measurements: Graphical explanation of the three possible scenarios during the measurement of electrical conductivity in paired acupoints (the same acupoint in the left and right limb). Scenario 1 is when the measurement of the electrical conductivity in an acupoint in the left (L) limb is the same of the right (R) limb. Scenario 2 is when the electrical conductivity between left and right acupoints is different but under 20 μA, and is designated as nonvalid split. Scenario 3 is when the electrical conductivity between left and right acupoints is different and equal or higher than 20 μA, and is designated as a valid split. ___________________________ 18 Figure 3.4 – Trial phases exemplification: Depiction of the experimental phases. Phase 1: Rest phase – patients rest for 5 minutes in supine position; Phase 2: REPP measurement 1 – measurement of REPP and examination of split-meridians; Phase 3 – Intervention phase: control group stay at rest for 5 minutes while experimental group is punctured for 5 minutes; Phase 4: REPP measurement 2 – measurement of REPP in both control and experimental groups and additional 5 minutes resting period; Phase 5: REPP measurement 3 – measurement of REPP in both control and experimental groups and end of experiment. ______________________________________________________ 19 Figure 3.5 – Control and Experimental group results: Representation of the normalized frequencies of the control and experimental groups, concerning the split-meridian differences (0<SMD<35+ μA) for the three measurement moments of the experiment (M1 – phase 2, M2 – phase 4 and M3 – phase 5). ______________________________________________________________ 21 Figure 4.1 – Changes in patient's altered sensation over time: Anesthesia sensation evolution in time (T0 to T3) described by the patient. Previous to any treatment (T0) the anesthesia sensation was located in right side of the chin and lower lip as described. Seven days after the first treatment, the anesthesia sensation in the chin has changed but remained unchanged in the lip (T1). At the end of the second treatment the anesthesia sensation of the chin was eliminated while in the lip some paresthesia sensation remained (T2). Seven days after the second treatment the patient reported a gradual elimination of the paresthesia sensation at the lower lip and only a residual paresthesia Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects xii Ribeiro DC – Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine sensation remained (T3). Seven days after the last treatment, the patient reposted a full recovery with no paresthesia sensation (T4 – not depicted). __________________________________________ 32 Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects xiii Ribeiro DC Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine Abbreviations AIC – Akaike Information Criterion H0 – Null hypothesis H1 – Testing hypothesis Mi – Measurement of the REPP in time, with i=1,2,3 REPP – Reactive Electro-Permeable Points SMD – Split-Meridian Difference TCM – Traditional Chinese Medicine Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects xiv Ribeiro DC – Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine Time-frame assessment of acupuncture effects xv Ribeiro DC Master Thesis in Traditional Chinese Medicine Preface I will never forget the first time I have seen a graphical representation of a human being with “lines and dots” all over the body – a representation of the