To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: CUA: Acupuncture May Be Beneficial In Treating Some Types Of Urinary Incontinence URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1FF57E.htm Doctor's Guide June 26, 2001
By Cameron Johnston Special to DG News
TORONTO, ON -- June 26, 2001 -- A team of investigators at Canada's largest hospital specializing in women's health, the Sunnybrook and Woman's Health Sciences Centre, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has determined that acupuncture might have a role to play in treating urinary incontinence.
The results of the study were presented here this week at the annual meeting of the Canadian Urological Association.
In the study, conducted by Drs. Richard Chen and Sender Herschorn, 15 women with urge incontinence and bladder instability were evaluated according to the American Urological Association (AUA) quality of life index, and the SEAPI (Stress, Emptying, Anatomy, Protection and Inhibition) scale to determine whether there was some basis to the proposed neuromodulatory effect that this ancient Chinese medical/artform seems to have.
Although the exact mechanisms of action for acupuncture are not known, and indeed might run contrary to what many doctors feel constitutes medical science, Dr. Herschorn, Sunnybrook's chief of urology, said this study is important because there is a lack of truly objective data as to the success of acupuncture.
He said urologists have been using the two scales used in this study for years to quantify urinary incontinence problems. Urinary incontinence is a growing problem in society, and one for which traditional treatments are proving ineffective, he added.
According to Dr. Chen, who is chief of urology at the Trillium Health Sciences Centre, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and a trained acupuncturist, the women underwent 12 treatments over a six week period. They were treated on alternating visits with needles in the supra pubic abdomen, or in the back, at the inferior gluteal and the peroneal nerves.
The women showed a mean increase in bladder capacity from 377.9 cubic centimeters (cc) pre-acupuncture to 416 cc post-acupuncture, Dr. Chen said. Also, their leak pressure point was increased from 97 cc of water pre-treatment to 126 cc of water post-treatment.
On the AUA quality of life index, the mean improvement was from 13.5 points pre-treatment to 4.7 immediately post-treatment. At six months post-treatment, the AUA score had increased slightly, to 5.8 (p=.0001).
Not surprisingly the doctors were challenged as to the validity of acupuncture, and while they noted that the mechanisms of how acupuncture works are not known, it is well-known that the pelvic floor can be stimulated, and that acupuncture increases the serum endorphins as well as producing a cortisol effect.
It is conceivable, they said, that a similar placebo-controlled trial could be attempted, since similar studies have been done using acupuncture to treat other conditions, such as osteoarthritis.
The benefits, however, might not be long-lasting, Dr. Chen said. Some of the women reported renewed incontinence within a year, but this seemed to occur mostly in those who were heavy coffee drinkers, or had spicy diets, he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.