NYC Acupuncture To Improve Chemotherapy Induced Fatigue

NYC Acupuncture To Improve Chemotherapy Induced Fatigue

Distressing fatigue is common among chemotherapy patients both during and following chemotherapy. J Vickers, D Struass, B Fearon, B Cassileth, Acupuncture for Postchemotherapy Fatigue: A phase II Study, J of Clin Oncology, V. 22(9) 1731- 1735 (2004), citing Curt GA, Breitbart W, Cella D, et al: Impact of cancer-related fatigue on the lives of patients: New findings from the fatigue coalition. Oncologist5:353-360, 2000 and Smets EM, Visser MR, Willems-Groot AF,et al: Fatigue and radiotherapy, A: Experience inpatients undergoing treatment. Br J Cancer 78:899-906, 1998.

RESULTS OF SLOAN KETTERING STUDY OF ACUPUNCTURE AS A CHEMOTHERAPY FATIGUE TREATMENT

For some patients the fatigue is the result of chemo induced anemia and can be treated with platelet producing medications. However, a significant number of patients suffering from fatigue do have have anemia. In many of these patients, the fatigue causes are much more complex. In a 2004 study conducted at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital, researchers found that patients receiving acupuncture experienced a mean improvement in fatigue of 31{50cdfeddae49c27121ae92727b6a81e9d51d9b53978b3e5eb07002f692d3a298}.

Researchers hypothesized that the improvement experience by these study participants was due to the effect acupuncture has in increasing certain neurotransmitter. The particular neurotransmitter identified by researchers was serotonin. Researchers concluded that additional studies of acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy induced fatigue were warranted.

SUBSEQUENT STUDY CONFIRMS ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTIVENESS AS A CHEMOTHERAPY FATIGUE TREATMENT

A study conducted by the University of Manchester in 2007, reached results similar to the Sloan Kettering study. These researchers determined that both acupuncture and acupressure significantly improved fatigue symptoms in chemotherapy patients. Molassiotis A, Sylt P, Diggins H, The Management of Cancer-related Fatigue after Chemotherapy with Acupuncture and Acupressure: A randomized controlled trial. Comp Ther in Med 15, 228-237 (2007).

Patients received six 20 minutes acupuncture/acupressure treatments over a period of 2 weeks and were evaluated at the conclusion of treatment and 2 weeks following the treatments. It was determined that acupuncture was effective at a significant level and more effective than both acupressure and sham acupressure.

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