Controlled trial of acupuncture for disabling breathlessness.
In a randomised controlled trial, twelve matched pairs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease received traditional Chinese acupuncture or placebo acupuncture. After three weeks' treatment the traditional-acupuncture group showed significantly greater benefit in terms of subjective scores of breathlessness and six-minute walking distance. Objective measures of lung function were unchanged in either group. Whether these differences are mediated by endogenous opiate and/or peptide release remains speculative.
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000368:Aged; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D005082:Physical Exertion; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011897:Random Allocation; D012119:Respiration; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests