| | | West meets East IV
TCM/ Bioscience Traditional Chinese Medicine meets ‘Western’ Medical Bioscience.
All references on this page attempt in some way to find an appropriate meeting point between these two fields of endeavour. While none presents an ideal approach or solution, all are trying to think through and come to terms with a considerably vexed area of investigation. That some of the work presented here is more successful in its ambition and execution than others is perhaps to be expected. The whole of the ‘West meets East’ component of this website is a testament to the complexities and difficulties entailed in the investigation and explication of such a meeting. Pomeranz, Bruce & Stux, Gabriel Eds. (1989) Scientific Bases of Acupuncture. Springer-Verlag. Berlin.
The chapters of this book derive from ideas presented at a science conference in Düsseldorf in 1987. Topics include: neurotransmitters, analgesia, pain, drug addiction, nerve regeneration, animal experiments, pain relief, enkephalins, neurophysiology, electroacup. analgesia, animal models, thermography, physiology. The approach to scientific thinking found here has been quite influential in subsequent years, but remains firmly within the ‘scientific impact’ of acupuncture camp. PmStx1, PmStx1a, PmStx2, PmStx3, PmStx4, PmStx5/6, PmStx7, PmStx8, PmStx9.
G. Stux, R. Hammerschlag (Eds.) (2001) Clinical Acupuncture: Scientific Basis. Springer. Berlin.
1. Acupuncture Analgesia: Basic Research.
2. Acupuncture Analgesic Mechanisms: Electrical Stimulation.
3. Opoid and AntiOpoid Peptides: Pain Modulation.
4. Meridian System Research.
5. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Acupuncture.
6. Auricular Acupuncture: Neurophysiology.
7. Assessing Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture: Reviews.
8. Acupuncture Treatment for Stroke, Addiction, etc.
9. Qualitative Research Methods.
10. Proposed Standards for Acupuncture Clinical Studies.
11. Designing Clinical Trails and Assessing Efficacy.
12. Future Research Directions: Physiology.
Bensoussan, Alan (1991) The Vital Meridian. Churchill Livingstone. Melbourne.
Introduction, Contemporary Scene. VMerid1
Physiological Effects. VMerid2
Nature of Meridians. VMerid3
Biomedical actions, Neurohumeral paradigm. VMerid4
Role of Central Nervous System, Learning. VMerid5
This is a relatively early survey which considers how acupuncture might relate to ‘western’ medical bioscience. Although brief and rather deficient, it is quite a reasonable introductory survey, and Bensoussan’s embrace of the participation of the central nervous system is welcome.
Mann, Dr Felix (1992) Reinventing Acupuncture: a new concept of ancient medicine. Butterworth-Heinemann. Oxford.
Felix Mann has been a significant figure in the British acupuncture scene, with many years clinical experience. His reflections on his clinical experience are worth noting. Here he places great weight on what he calls ‘Periosteal Acupuncture.’ However it represents a significant dilution/ avoidance of traditional TCM theory, dwelling greatly on clinical outcomes with a particular somatic focus.
FMann1, FMann2, FMann3.
H. Niimi, R-J. Xiu, T. Sawada, C. Zheng Eds. (1996) Microcirculatory Approach to Asian Traditional Medicine: Strategy for Scientific Evaluation. Elsevier. Amsterdam.
Acupuncture almost certainly impacts in some measure upon microcirculation/ tissue perfusion, both in the CNS and anatomical body. But whether this small volume adds much to our understanding of how this is brought about therapeutically is a moot point. The papers here derive from a Microcirculation Congress held in Beijing in 1995, with many of them dealing with herbs and extracts.
MicroCirc1, MicroCirc2, MicroCirc3.
Ernst, Edzard & White, Adrian Eds. (1999) ACUPUNCTURE: a Scientific Appraisal. Butterworth-Heinemann. Oxford.
Introduction, History & Current Practice. ErnWh1
Western Medical Acupuncture. ErnWh2
Neurophysiology of Analgesia. ErnWh3
Effects on Circulatory and Immune Systems. ErnWh4
Clinical Effectiveness: Overview of Reviews. ErnWh5
Adverse Effects, Conclusion ErnWh6
This is more a booklet of surveys than of scientific appraisal. In many ways it is an overview, and starting point for further investigation.
Z. H. Cho, E. K. Wong, J. H. Fallon (2001) Neuro-Acupuncture: scientific evidence of acupuncture revealed. Q-puncture. Los Angeles.
This is an unusual book. It provides quite a good diagrammatic summary (though a little elementary) of the Central Nervous System components likely to be involved in explaining the clinical effects of acupuncture, but almost entirely fails to deal with acupuncture theory and practice. Consequently, there is virtually no meaningful attempt to knit the two fields together.
NAcup1, Nacup2, NAcup3a, NAcup3b, NAcup3c, NAcup3d, NAcup4a, NAcup4b, NAcup5.
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