January 12, 2010 – Acupuncture may reduce the intensity of itching in people with atopic eczema (the most common form), according to a preliminary German study1.
Researchers conducted a preliminary clinical trial with 30 subjects with atopic eczema triggered by allergens from pollen or dust mites.
Each of the subjects was exposed, on 3 occasions, to the allergen which usually triggered eczema attacks in him (pollen or mites). The patients were then subjected to one of the following protocols: a session with needles treating 2 specific points of acupuncture; a sham acupuncture session (the needles were driven at points unrelated to the acupuncture meridians) or they received no treatment.
According to the results, inflammatory skin reactions were reduced by 10% to 15% when subjects received actual acupuncture treatment, compared to those who did not receive treatment (control group). These proportions were between 5% and 7% when the actual treatment was compared to the sham treatment (placebo).
Currently, there is no definitive treatment for eczema. Therefore, conventional interventions are mainly limited to reducing inflammation and alleviating the discomfort that eczema causes.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Pfab F, Huss-Marp J, Gatti A et al. Influence of acupuncture on type I hypersensitivity itch and the wheal and flare response in adults with atopic eczema – a blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Allergy, Dec. 2009.
