i think reference number is not that number any more i think the reference that octopet referred to is the who one at least it contains this list of diseases symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved through controlled trials to be an effective treatment however this peculiarly bold who statement is less authoritative than the underlying medical literature per wp medrs so i don't understand all this ruckus clinical trials have so far produced little evidence for the efficacy of tcm therapies such as acupuncture still sounds very accurate to me